SALISBURY: Live Stats // Video Stream
ST. MARY'S: Live Stats // Video Stream

SALISBURY, Md. -- Opening up a three-game road swing, the 23rd-ranked Christopher Newport women's lacrosse team will continue a grueling gauntlet of top-25 showdowns as the Captains travel to No. 4 Salisbury on Saturday at noon before heading to No. 20 St. Mary's (Md.) for a rematch on Monday at 4 p.m.

Entering the weekend, Christopher Newport sits at 6-3 on the season, including 1-1 against conference competition. Meanwhile, Salisbury is 8-0 with a 3-0 mark in league play, and St. Mary's (Md.) is 3-2 overall and 0-2 against Coast-to-Coast Conference members.

Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, neither Salisbury nor St. Mary's (Md.) will allow visiting fans to attend their games this spring. However, both schools will provide live stats and a video stream of the action on their respective websites. Direct links can be found at the top of this release and on the schedule page.

Christopher Newport hits the road after defeating St. Mary's, 9-6, during a defensive masterpiece on Wednesday. The Seahawks committed 27 turnovers during the game, which marked the most by an opponent in nine years. Kendall Krause and Gracie Sanders had three takeaways apiece, while seven other players had at least one caused turnover. Joely Stevens also had multiple takeaways for the third consecutive game.

The victory marked Christopher Newport's second against a nationally-ranked opponent this season after upending No. 20 Lynchburg last week. Putting that into perspective, the Captains had two wins against top-25 foes in the previous 20 years of the women's lacrosse program before their recent run of dominance.

Overall this season, Kelsey Winters leads the Coast-to-Coast Conference with 58 points and 37 assists. She has at least one helper in her last 10 appearances, equaling the sixth-longest run in program history. Meanwhile, Cat Leighty ranks second in the league with 27 goals, and Sam Wettengel is first with 21 takeaways. The senior captain also sits second with 49 draw controls and 23 ground balls.

Salisbury comes into the weekend with one of the nation's top defensive units. The Sea Gulls are surrendering only 8.05 goals per game, which ranks first in the conference. The squad has limited its last four opponents to fewer than 10 goals, including No. 16 Mary Washington and No. 10 TCNJ. Meanwhile, the team's offense also ranks second in the league with a 15.50 goals-per-game rate.

On an individual level, Mary Claire Hisle has a league-best 8.48 goals-against-average, while Alexis Strobel sits second in the conference with 49 points. Erin Scannell and Lydia McNulty also rank in the top-five in the league in goals with 26 and 21, respectively.

On Monday, St. Mary's (Md.) will welcome Christopher Newport to town for a rematch of Wednesday's tilt. Against the Captains, Lucy Gussio led the Seahawks with six points, including a hat-trick. Meanwhile, Stephanie Heffron forced four turnovers, while Aimee Uibel added 11 saves between the pipes.

Overall this season, Uibel leads the conference with a .519 save percentage while allowing a league-low 50 total goals. Offensively, Gussio sits 10th in the league with 22 points, while Heffron has collected a team-high 26 draws and 20 ground balls. Mary Kate Fitz-Patrick also has eight takeaways this season, including three against Christopher Newport.

Saturday's meeting will mark the 21st match-up between the Sea Gulls and Captains with Salisbury holding a 20-0 edge in the series. Meanwhile, Christopher Newport has a 10-8 lead against St. Mary's dating back to the first meeting in 2001.

Following Monday's showdown, the Captains will remain on the road for another Coast-to-Coast Conference battle at Southern Virginia on Wednesday at 5 p.m.

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