LEXINGTON, Va. -- Squaring off against a top-10 foe, Kendall Krause unloaded a hat-trick and gave the Captains an early lead, but the Christopher Newport women's lacrosse team could not quite keep pace with No. 4 Washington & Lee as the Generals secured a 16-6 victory on Saturday afternoon at Watt Field.

Coming through with her third hat-trick of the season, Krause posted a pair of first-half darts before adding another tally in the third stanza. Meanwhile, Kelsey Winters chipped in with four points, including a pair of goals, and Zoe Dyer landed her 16th strike of the season.

Along with the offensive standouts, Syd Guidi secured four draw controls, and Madi Rozgonyi contributed a pair of takeaways.

With the setback, Christopher Newport falls to 3-4 on the season. The victory bumps Washington & Lee to 5-2.

Less than a minute into regulation, the Captains opened the scoring. After controlling the game's first draw, the offense went to work. Settling in on the left side of the zone, Winters fed the ball to Dyer, who was stationed along the left pipe. Carving up the defense, the senior quickly found Krause cutting inside for the opening tally.

Trying to keep the early advantage, the defense faced a relentless assault. Lizzie Burgoyne made an early save, Krause applied pressure to a General that forced a shot to sail high, and Riley Rafterry-Lee tripped up another attacker, which helped punctuate a separate defensive stand. Unfortunately, the hosts never relented and eventually wrapped up the first quarter with five straight goals to snatch a 5-1 lead.

Needing to steal back some momentum, Christopher Newport struck early in the second period. Lindsay Connell battled through multiple midfielders while slipping her way across the 25. After the offense settled in, Connell eventually regained possession and dished a feed to Winters, who was anchored on the left side of the field. With two defenders in her way, the junior All-American simply dipped low, scooted towards the cage, and whistled a shot inside the left pipe for her first tally.

Firing right back, Washington & Lee strung together three straight goals to grab an 8-2 advantage midway through the quarter.

Searching for a response, Christopher Newport secured the ensuing draw after Dyer snagged a high-hopper. Shortly thereafter, the Captains flashed their quick-strike capabilities and crisp passing. At the top of the zone, Guidi found Winters, who quickly fed inside to Krause. In a flash, the senior snapped off a pointblank rocket to cut the deficit back down to five.

Meanwhile, on the defensive side, Christopher Newport continued to face off against a lethal attack. On Washington & Lee's subsequent possession, Joely Stevens was glued to an attacker attempting to streak free along the left side of the field. After forcing a pass, Burgoyne eventually intercepted a feed from her perch in the crease to close off the rally.

Sadly, the Generals returned to the offensive end and punched home back-to-back goals at the end of the first half to steal a 10-3 lead entering the break. Later, after halftime, the hosts continued to stretch their advantage with two early tallies in the third quarter to gain a nine-goal edge.

Still battling on both ends of the field, the defense clamped down on a last-minute push by the Generals in the third quarter. Rozgonyi and Emma Jackson tied up an attacker on a pass along the crease before Izzy Shefrin collected the loose ball. Quickly capitalizing on the other side, Winters fed down low to Krause, who showed off some impressive footwork while spinning through a pair of defenders before converting on the doorstep.

In the fourth quarter, Washington & Lee answered with four consecutive goals, which gave the team a double-digit lead. Refusing to go down quietly, Christopher Newport came through with two late strikes at the end of regulation.

First, with three minutes remaining, Winters buried a free-position dart in the bottom left corner of the cage. Moments later, after controlling the ensuing draw, the attack went back to work. Alexis Kasuda slipped a pass inside to Dyer, who had a defender draped on her back. Unfazed by the tight quarters, she used a quick turnaround to spin past the General before firing on the inside, which capped off the scoring.

Overall, Washington & Lee held a 34-15 advantage in shots and a 16-11 edge in ground balls. Meanwhile, the two teams split the game's 26 draws. Along with Guidi's work in the center of the field, Dyer and Eleanor Collins had two draws apiece.

Christopher Newport will return to action on Wednesday when the Captains host Randolph-Macon at 7 p.m.

---ISH---