HAMPDEN-SYDNEY, Va. -- Kicking off the 2021 campaign with an offensive explosion, the 13th-ranked Christopher Newport men's lacrosse team picked up right where it left off last year as six players registered multi-goal efforts while leading the Captains to a 16-10 victory over Hampden-Sydney during a non-conference battle on Friday evening at Hellmuth-Gibson Field.
 
Leading the electric attack, Preseason All-American Brady Altobello registered his fifth career hat-trick after collecting three goals and an assist. Meanwhile, Drew Miller and Jackson Deal both had three points, including a pair of goals, while Thomas Mark, Coby Auslander, and Alex Brendes all had two strikes as well.
 
Overall, the 16 goals were the most in a season opener since the 2011 Captains dropped 17 on Randolph. Friday's showcase also marked the program's highest single-game scoring output against Hampden-Sydney in a rivalry that dates back to the start of the Christopher Newport men's lacrosse program in 2007.
 
Along with the offensive firepower, the defense also clamped down against a potent HSC attack that was coming off a 21-goal eruption against Southern Virginia in the Tigers' opener last week. Campbell Pozin had a team-high three takeaways, while Phoenix Hines collected the 100th caused turnover of his career. With that effort, he became just the second Captain to reach that milestone, joining former legend Drew Cornell.
 
With the win, Christopher Newport improves to 1-0 on the season, while Hampden-Sydney falls to 1-1.
 
Although the hosts were able to get on the board first in the opening period, the Captains fired right back. Less than 20 seconds after HSC opened the scoring, Altobello retaliated. Isolated one-on-one near the top of the zone, the junior cut to his left, pushed up the field, and fired on the run for the equalizer.
 
Keeping up the pressure, the visitors quickly broke the deadlock with a rapid-fire run. Kicking things off, after an HSC turnover, Brendes found Deal cutting around the cage for his first strike. Minutes later, Brendes returned to the scene and took care of business by himself with a laser just under the crossbar. Shortly thereafter, Dylan Rice connected with Miller, who shook a defender and deposited on the doorstep for a 4-1 lead.
 
With the offense clicking, the defense was just as effective. Late in the first quarter, the Captains were hit with a pair of penalties and faced a brief two-man down situation. Brushing aside Hampden-Sydney's power play, Hines and Aidan FitzGerald put consistent pressure on the attack at the top of the zone before Ryan Young came away with a loose ball to end the threat. Later, after the hosts finally broke through for the second time, Andrew Clark put a nice punctuation mark on the period with a solid save on a low liner to keep the 4-2 edge.
 
The second quarter was the epitome of a seesaw affair as the two teams traded the first eight goals of the stanza. For Christopher Newport, Brendes scored on a feed from Altobello before Rice battled through traffic and found Will Stockhausen for a long-range rocket. Later, Mark created some space on a cutback before landing his first goal, while Robby Adams hammered a one-timer of his own with three minutes left in the period.
 
Looking to finally break the back-and-forth battle, the Captains put a decisive end to one of Hampden-Sydney's final rallies of the first half. During a sustained threat, Hines deflected a pass that momentarily slowed down the attack before Max Wayne absolutely buried a Tiger with a tremendous blow along the right side of the crease, which punctuated the defensive stand. 
 
Later, in the final minute of the quarter, the Captains stretched their lead back to three after Miller slipped a quick feed over the cage to Altobello, who dunked one on the doorstep to steal a 9-6 lead.
 
Following the break, Hampden-Sydney regrouped and struck twice in the early going, but Christopher Newport quickly put an end to the resurgence. First, on the defensive side, Hines burst in on a double-team near the top of the zone, dislodged the ball, and snatched the roller for his 100th caused turnover.  
 
Stealing back the momentum, Altobello completed his hat-trick after firing from deep before Mark added an acrobatic play on the interior. Midway through the third, the junior handled a pass from Deal, spun, and fired in mid-air to land his second dagger of the contest. Minutes later, Auslander used his defender as an effective screen against the goalie during a man-up situation. Eventually, the second-year star whipped a shot around the Tiger and just inside the left pipe for a 12-9 edge.
 
With the offense humming again, the defense stepped up as well. Burke Widhelm stood up an attacker and eventually forced an errant pass that squirted out-of-bounds. On a subsequent series, after the Tigers failed to back up a shot, Wayne showed incredible hustle as the senior captain caught up to the closest attacker on a dead sprint, reached out, and won the race to the sideline to regain possession.
 
Looking to polish off the third period in style, the offense added one final highlight as Miller rolled to  his right and took advantage of a late slide while splitting the double-team for a 13-9 lead.
 
In the final period, Christopher Newport simply cruised to the victory. Kicking things off, Pozin poked the ball away from a midfielder and cleared the defensive zone. Taking advantage, Deal collected a rebound off an initial shot before firing into a wide-open net. Later, Auslander split a pair of crashing defenders before landing a man-up missile on the way to a 15-9 lead.
 
Less than 20 seconds later, after an initial rip by Miller was stoned on a diving play by HSC's keeper, Rice simply collected the ricochet and fired over top of the goalie to cap off the scoring.
 
Overall, Christopher Newport held a slim 39-38 advantage in shots, while the Captains made eight saves between the pipes. Clark earned the win while making three stops in the first 45 minutes, and Zac Hanway came back with five saves in the fourth quarter to seal the victory.
 
The Captains will return to action on Wednesday with a 5:15 p.m. showdown against Southern Virginia at Jennings Family Stadium.
 
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