Live Stats // Video Stream
NEWPORT NEWS, Va. -- The top-ranked Christopher Newport men's lacrosse team will battle for league supremacy on Saturday at 4 p.m. when the Captains host No. 3 Salisbury in the Coast-to-Coast Athletic Conference Championship at Jennings Family Stadium.
Christopher Newport enters the title bout with a 16-0 record, including a 10-0 mark at home. Meanwhile, Salisbury is 17-1 overall with a 4-1 ledger in road tilts.
For those fans unable to attend the contest, live stats will be available at CNUsports.com. The Captains will also provide a broadcast of the game with Andy McGregor and Randy Foster calling all of the action. Direct links to both features can be found at the top of this release and on the schedule page.
Christopher Newport earned a spot in the championship after winning the regular season conference crown with an unblemished record in league action. Saturday's showdown will mark the second time in program history that the Captains have competed in the championship game after dropping a 12-9 decision to the Sea Gulls in Maryland last year.
So far this season, Christopher Newport has featured a well-balanced roster that has found success in all facets of the game. Entering the weekend, the team ranks fourth in the nation in scoring offense (19.56 goals per game) and eighth in scoring defense (7.31 goals against average). The Captains are also first in takeaways per game (18.31), ground balls per game (47.31) and scoring margin (12.25 goals per contest).
On an individual level,
Phoenix Hines is 15th in the NCAA with 47 caused turnovers, while
Max Wayne is 21st with 43. Offensively,
Dylan Rice is 13th with 60 goals and 20th with 90 points. Both of those totals are also new single-season program records.
In addition to the fifth-year standouts, junior
Zac Hanway is 12th in the NCAA with a 7.57 goals-against-average, and freshman
Warner Cabaniss is 23rd in the country with a .663 faceoff percentage. Additionally,
Coby Auslander is 32nd in the country with 41 assists, which also stands as a new school record.
Salisbury also ranks among the national leaders in a variety of categories. The Sea Gulls are 11th in scoring offense (17.61 goals per game), 13th in shooting percentage (.352), and 20th in scoring defense (7.94 goals against average). Z.J. Shahin is also third in the NCAA with a 6.99 goals-against-average, and Cross Ferrara is seventh with a 4.11 goals-per-game mark.
On Tuesday, Salisbury locked up its spot in the conference championship after knocking off Mary Washington, 22-5, during the semifinals. Logan Posner deposited six points, including four goals, while Luke Nestor and Jarrett Bromwell notched hat-tricks. Overall, 12 different Sea Gulls scored at least one goal during the win.
Saturday's match-up will mark the second time this season that Salisbury and Christopher Newport have squared off. Previously, the Captains registered a 17-7 win on April 16. Auslander,
Alex Brendes, and
Andrew Cook all had four points for the victors, while Cabaniss won 18 of his 26 faceoffs. For the Sea Gulls, Jack Dowd chipped in with three points, and Shahin made 15 saves between the pipes.
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