NEWPORT NEWS, Va. -- After missing the last two games, Dylan Rice made an epic return as the reigning All-American erupted for six goals while carrying the 18th-ranked Christopher Newport men's lacrosse team past Eastern, 19-7, during a non-conference contest on a gorgeous Wednesday afternoon at Jennings Family Stadium.
 
Showing no signs of rust, Rice returned to the field and quickly joined an exclusive club with his six-goal eruption. His six strikes equaled the second-highest single-game total in program history, falling just one short of matching Andrew Evans' record of seven set against Tri-State on March 8, 2008.
 
Overall, Rice is just the eighth player in program history to score at least six times in one game. He is also the first Captain to reach that milestone since Matthew Crist accomplished the feat against Southern Virginia on March 3, 2018.
 
Along with Rice, Brady Altobello matched his career-high with five points, including three assists. Meanwhile, Matt Rice, Alex Brendes, and Drew Miller all added two goals apiece, while Coby Auslander contributed a pair of helpers.
 
Meanwhile, on the defensive side, Phoenix Hines tormented the Eagles throughout the contest. The junior led the squad with four takeaways. Aided by that effort, he now stands just five shy of matching Drew Cornell's career record of 102.
 
Equally impressive, Max Wayne also forced three turnovers against Eastern, giving him 90 for his career. He is only the fourth Captain to reach that benchmark, joining Cornell, Hines, and Teddy Pekalski.
 
With the victory, Christopher Newport improves to 4-1 on the season. The setback drops Eastern to 2-3.
 
From the start, the Captains set the tone. Auslander went up the ladder with a high-rising rocket for the game's first strike before Glenn Doering capitalized from long range. Continuing the early surge, Brendes used a nice stutter-step to shake a defender on the way to his first goal before setting up Rice with a highlight-reel assist after flipping the ball just before crashing to the turf.
 
Shortly thereafter, Altobello laced a one-timer on the run to snatch a 5-0 lead midway through the opening period.
 
After that point, the Eagles found their groove but could never slow down the Christopher Newport attack. Eventually, the two squads traded blows for the rest of the first half. The Captains opened the seesaw affair with one of the fanciest goals of the season. Kicking things off, Hines de-sticked a midfielder after Eastern won a faceoff. Jump-starting a quick break, the junior found Aaron Casteel, who connected with Miller on the run. Putting the perfect punctuation mark on the play, the freshman went behind-the-back for the squad's sixth goal of the game.
 
Remaining hot in the second quarter, Rice laced his second goal before Will Stockhausen worked his way around the left pipe for a dagger from the doorstep.
 
Carrying an 8-4 edge into halftime, Christopher Newport stretched its lead with six goals in the third stanza. Leading the charge, Rice contributed half of the strikes in the period, including two from the interior. He also took advantage of a fantastic play by Scott McAneney towards the end of the quarter.
 
After the Captains broke out a 10-man ride on an Eastern clear attempt, McAneney found himself in no-man's land while guarding an attacker well outside of the crease. After the Eagle found a shooting lane, he unloaded a rip, but McAneney closed off the angle, elevated, and plucked the rocket out of the air before starting a fast break, which ended in another goal by Rice.
 
Meanwhile, several other standouts joined the fun in the third period. Campbell Pozin whistled a goal on the run, while Altobello drove hard into the body of a defender to create some space before firing his second strike. Later, Miller capitalized on a feed from Rice to help the hosts snatch a 14-6 lead entering the fourth quarter.
 
With little left to prove in the final period, Christopher Newport broke out a few more fancy plays to close out the contest. Altobello faked a pass to his right before dishing to Rice, who capped off his heroics with a diving dart early in the quarter. Later, Pat Matsko blew a bullet through the wickets of the Eastern goalie, while Brendes made a leaping save on a feed from Auslander before adding his final tally.
 
Polishing off the victory, Matt Rice added two late goals to cap off the scoring. His final one came after Michael Brost shrugged off a huge hit at the top of the zone before finding Rice on the run for the 19th tally.
 
Overall, Christopher Newport out-shot Eastern, 51-25, and held a 39-32 edge in ground balls. Miller led the Captains with five rollers, while Stockhausen and Brendes both had four. Between the pipes, McAneney finished with 10 saves, while Andrew Clark added two, including an incredible pointblank stop late in the fourth quarter during a 5-on-5 situation.
 
The Captains will return to action on Saturday when the squad hosts No. 16 Stevenson at 1 p.m.
 
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