GRANTHAM, Pa. -- The Christopher Newport women's lacrosse team jumped out to a halftime lead, but No. 24 Messiah strung together a huge second-half surge to pull away with a 14-7 victory on Saturday afternoon at the MC Turf Field.
 
During the battle, Kelsey Winters collected her first collegiate hat-trick after scoring three times against the Falcons. Meanwhile, Zoe Dyer also contributed three points, including a pair of assists, and Hope Hunter slammed home two goals as well. Additionally, Jackie Baker chipped in with two points to round out the offensive standouts.
 
Incredibly, every point scored by the Captains during the game was registered by a player in either their first or second year of collegiate lacrosse.
 
Meanwhile, on the defensive side, Becca Creekmore continued to shine in the crease. After picking up seven ground balls in her last appearance, which marked the second-highest total by a freshman in school history, she followed that effort with a career-high 16 saves against Messiah. That total equaled the fifth-most by a freshman in school history and the highest total since Emma Walsh had 17 against Salisbury on April 5, 2016.
 
With the setback, Christopher Newport falls to 2-4 on the season. The victory bumps Messiah to 3-2.
 
From the beginning, the Captains answered the bell and torched the Falcons from the eight-meter arc. Winters blasted a pair of free-position darts, while Dyer also added one on the way to a 3-3 deadlock. Later, after Creekmore stepped up between the pipes with five straight saves, including one on an eight-meter attempt, Christopher Newport snatched a lead.
 
With nine minutes left in the opening half, Hunter found the back of the net for her first tally of the game. Shortly thereafter, following two saves by Creekmore and a takeaway by Hannah Curry, Dyer connected with Winters for the team's fifth goal of the first stanza.
 
Unfortunately, the tide began to turn after that point. Messiah inched back within one just before halftime. Then, in the second period, the hosts erupted for seven straight goals to secure an 11-5 edge with just over 15 minutes remaining in regulation.
 
Needing to steal back some momentum, Creekmore slammed the door on the Falcons' next rally before Dyer set up a bullet by Baker, which cut Messiah's lead down to five at 11-6.
 
Sadly, that was as close as the Captains would come. Hunter's second dagger of the game kept the deficit at five, but Messiah added a pair of strikes in the final two minutes to steal the 14-7 victory.
 
Overall, Messiah out-shot Christopher Newport, 42-16, and held a 13-10 lead in ground balls. Creekmore picked up a team-high five rollers for the Captains, while Curry had a pair to go along with two caused turnovers. Creekmore and Kendall Krause also had takeaways for the visitors.
 
The Falcons also led the way in draws, 17-6. Gracie Sanders collected three for the Captains, while Hunter, Baker, and Julia Iapicca all had one each.
 
Christopher Newport will return to action on Tuesday when the squad hosts Coast Guard at 3 p.m.
 
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