NEWPORT NEWS, Va. -- Orchestrating a defensive masterpiece, the Christopher Newport women's lacrosse team earned its spot in the Coast-to-Coast Athletic Conference Championship after taking down Mary Washington, 5-4, during a semifinal clash on a sweltering Wednesday afternoon at Jennings Family Stadium.

Against the Eagles, Maddie Rusinko established a new career-high with six caused turnovers. That equaled the fourth-highest total in program history and the most in a postseason contest. Additionally, seven other Captains had at least one takeaway, including two by Lizzie Burgoyne. The senior goalie also matched her career-high with 12 saves, including two stops on eight-meter attempts.

Overall, the four goals allowed by the Captains marked the fewest surrendered during a postseason tilt since the 2013 squad posted a 19-3 win over Piedmont in the semifinals of the USA South Tournament.

Meanwhile, on the other end of the field, Syd Guidi deposited a pair of goals, while Zoe Dyer, Eleanor Collins, and Kelsey Winters added one each. Winters also came through with one of the top plays on the defensive end after knocking down a pass in the final few seconds of regulation to help lock up the win.

With the victory, Christopher Newport improves to 10-8 on the season and advances to the league championship for a date with No. 2 Salisbury on Saturday at 1 p.m. The setback drops Mary Washington to 9-9 on the year.

In the early going, the Captains set the tone on both sides of the field. During an initial rush by the Eagles, Joely Stevens dislodged the ball with a trail-check before any damage could be done. Later, after a Mary Washington pass deflected off multiple sticks along the interior, Blake Hopkins swooped in and won the battle for possession before clearing the zone.

Meanwhile, the visitors continued to test Burgoyne from every angle, but the senior goalie was unfazed by the early barrage. She eventually stoned a low liner on the squad's first on-target attempt before snatching a high-rising rip a few minutes later.

While the defense continued to clamp down on Mary Washington's attack, Guidi got the scoring started in the sixth minute. The second-year star used a quick cut to her left to burn a defender before busting a shot inside the right pipe for the game's first goal.

Unfortunately, the weather became a factor after that point. With thunderstorms rolling through the area, the game was delayed for nearly two hours with the Captains nursing an early 1-0 lead.

After the stoppage, Christopher Newport came out firing. Winters earned an eight-meter attempt from the center hash and quickly capitalized for a 2-0 advantage. Just over two minutes later, Alexis Kasuda dropped a pinpoint feed to Collins, who was stationed inside the arc. In a split second, the sophomore turned and rifled a rocket over the head of a UMW defender for a 3-0 lead at the end of the first quarter.

Keeping the momentum early in the second stanza, Guidi added her second strike off a free-position attempt to push the advantage to 4-0.

Meanwhile, the defense never let up. On Mary Washington's initial response, Emma Jackson deflected a pass before Rusinko snatched the ground ball. Less than a minute later, after the Eagles returned to the zone, Rusinko was glued to an attacker before knocking the ball loose with a devastating check.

Although Mary Washington eventually found an opening in the 21st minute, Christopher Newport dug in again. Burgoyne snuffed out a bounce shot before Rusinko intercepted a long pass near the center of the zone. Later, in the final minute of the first half, Burgoyne flashed some quick hands to stone a free-position attempt before it leaked inside the right post.

Following an abbreviated halftime, Dyer added a highlight-reel goal to open the third quarter. After UMW's goalie made an initial save, the rebound skipped out to a defender, who attempted to shovel it back to the keeper. Bursting inside, Dyer got to the roller first just before it slipped into the crease. Sweeping up the trash, she uncorked a remarkable golf-style shot while clubbing the ball off the turf and into the back of the net for the team's fifth tally.

Staring at a four-goal deficit, Mary Washington chipped away at Christopher Newport's lead and posted back-to-back strikes late in the period. With the momentum starting to shift, the defense regained its footing.

In the final two minutes of the third period, Madi Rozgonyi punched the ball away from an attacker with a tough ride along the arc. Shortly thereafter, Rusinko knocked away a pass on the interior just before the horn sounded.

Early in the fourth quarter, Mary Washington closed within one after slapping the squad's fourth goal on the board in the 46th minute. With no more wiggle room, Christopher Newport closed out the contest with a gem on the defensive end.

Kicking things off, Jackson and Rusinko ran stride-for-stride with an Eagle and forced a turnover before the attacker could sneak free on the right side of the field. Later, Riley Rafterry-Lee pounced on a loose ball that skipped off the turf before Rusinko got her stick into the passing lane and batted down another feed during a subsequent rally.

With time ticking down, Maelyn Eversole won a race for a loose ball on a failed clear attempt by the visitors. Then, Rusinko capped off her historic outing by knocking aside another pass on the interior before clearing the zone with two minutes left.

Running down the clock, Christopher Newport had to take a shot with 10 seconds remaining in regulation. Sadly, the Eagles were able to stop the attempt and orchestrate one final counterstrike. Fortunately, off a restart with five seconds left on the clock, Winters made an acrobatic play to stymie a pass with a leaping deflection across midfield. Although Mary Washington was able to regain control of the ball, the play wasted enough time to prevent the visitors from attempting a final shot.

Overall, the Eagles held a 19-16 advantage in shots, a 17-13 lead in ground balls, and a 7-6 edge on draws. Jackson had a team-high four draw controls for Christopher Newport, while Rusinko collected three ground balls to go along with her six takeaways.

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