BUENA VISTA, Va. -- Kelsey Winters registered her 100th career point, while head coach
Lisa Valentine picked up her 100th victory as the 21st-ranked Christopher Newport women's lacrosse team rolled past Southern Virginia, 20-7, during a Coast-to-Coast Conference battle on Wednesday evening at Knight Stadium.
During the contest, Winters finished with a game-high seven points after collecting four goals and three assists. That bumped her career total to 104, making her just the 23rd player in program history to eclipse the 100-point plateau. Remarkably, she reached the milestone in only her 19th game, becoming the quickest Captain to accomplish the feat, topping Christopher Newport Hall of Famer Ashton Marshall, who notched her 100th point in her 24th collegiate appearance.
Along with Winters,
Syd Guidi posted her second career hat-trick, while
Cat Leighty also added four points, including three goals. Overall, 11 different Captains found the back of the cage during a well-balanced offensive showcase.
The victory, which moved the Captains to 7-5 on the season, also marked the 100th of Valentine's coaching career. She picked up 49 wins as the head coach at St. Mary's (Md.) from 2011-15 before compiling 51 triumphs since arriving in Newport News. Incredibly, she is one of only 16 coaches in the history of the NCAA to win at least 40 games with two different Division III women's lacrosse programs.
During her travels, Valentine has defeated 29 different schools while picking up victories in six states and Puerto Rico. Matching wits with some of the most legendary figures in women's lacrosse history, she has handed a loss to 43 different head coaches during her tenure.
Fittingly, Valentine's milestone victory came in a game that showcased the well-balanced squad that she has built at Christopher Newport. Shining on both sides of the ball, the Captains were nearly unstoppable from the very beginning of Wednesday's contest.
Kicking things off,
Julia Iapicca bounced an eight-meter attempt into the back of the cage before the defense smothered Southern Virginia's response. Building a wall at midfield,
Kendall Krause and
Joely Stevens both clamped down on clear attempts while scooping up ground balls to thwart a pair of rallies. After the Knights finally worked their way down the field,
Becca Creekmore punched away a high shot before
Emma Jackson bottled up an attempt on the interior to end the threat.
Still holding a 1-0 lead, Christopher Newport settled in on the offensive side. Leighty snuck a shot into the lower left corner of the cage for her first tally before slipping a pass over the defense to
Zoe Dyer, who stretched the lead to 3-0. After another save by Creekmore, Dyer returned with her second tally after firing a rocket on the run in the 13th minute.
Following an SVU timeout, the Knights controlled the ensuing draw, but
Riley Rafterry-Lee stuck to an attacker on the left side of the zone and prevented a cutback. Eventually, after the ball hit the turf, Jackson pounced on the roller and kicked off a successful clear.
After the defensive stand, the Captains unloaded on the other side of the field. Winters slipped a pinpoint feed through three defenders, which
Hope Hunter quickly turned into a goal. Later, Winters took a hit from a defender and earned a free-position attempt, which she bounced home for her first goal.
Continuing the surge,
Sloane McDonald capitalized on a heads-up play. After the ball was jostled loose in the center of the zone, a scrum ensued. Eventually, the bouncer hit the turf and hopped out to the right side. Never losing track of the ball, the freshman took possession, cut around two Knights, and scored on the interior for a 7-0 advantage.
After Guidi spun past a defender on the way to her first tally, Winters made history in the 21st minute. From the eight-meter arc, she skipped a bullet through the keeper for her 100th career point.
Pushing the lead to double-digits,
Gracie Sanders showed off some fancy footwork as the senior broke out a gorgeous spin move to shake a defender on the way to a 10-0 lead. Although the hosts responded with their first goal, Creekmore quickly quieted the resurgence. On Southern Virginia's next trip down the field, the team earned a free-position attempt. Unfazed, the second-year goalkeeper stoned the initial blast, and after the shooter collected her own rebound, Creekmore brushed aside the follow-up attempt as well.
With time winding down on the first half, Winters punctuated the opening period with two more assists. First, after drawing attention on the left side of the zone, she flipped a pass over the head of a Knight to
Paige Williams, who dunked on the doorstep. Later, after a dizzying display of moves to free up some space during a one-on-one situation, she connected with Krause, who sniped on the run for a 12-1 lead.
Following halftime, the Captains kept rolling. Leighty added a pair of early goals, including an eight-meter missile. Later, Winters stretched the lead after circling around the right post for her third goal of the game.
Meanwhile, on the other end of the field, Jackson and
Logan Quinn swallowed up an attacker who attempted a run towards the left pipe.
Lindsay Connell also stayed in the face of a Knight and forced an errant shot, while
Taylor Schoolar showed off her hands with a terrific interception in the crease to end another surge.
Although the hosts managed to cut their deficit back down to 10, Christopher Newport never let them get any closer. Iapicca and Williams ran a perfect give-and-go for the squad's 16th goal as Iapicca handed off possession to her freshman teammate before sprinting past the nearest defender and capitalizing on the return feed. Later, Iapicca assisted on Winters' final tally, while Guidi added two more darts, including an athletic move that saw her circle three defenders before capping off her hat-trick.
Holding a 19-7 lead, Christopher Newport added two more highlights in the waning moments of regulation. On the defensive side,
Jessica Ross punched away back-to-back rips, including a fantastic save on a jump-shot that tested her reflexes. Moments later, Connell closed out the scoring as she darted through the defense while dodging three different Knights before hammering home the final nail.
Overall, the Captains held a 30-27 edge in shots, while Creekmore, Schoolar, and Ross combined for 11 saves. Christopher Newport also led the way in ground balls, 13-7. Krause paced the team with four rollers, while Jackson had three. Meanwhile, Iapicca came through with five draw controls, and
Eleanor Collins secured a pair as well.
Christopher Newport will return to action on Saturday when the Captains host No. 19 Mary Washington at 4 p.m. The squad will also hold its annual Senior Day ceremony before that game.
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