NEWPORT NEWS, Va. -- Starring on both ends of the field, the Christopher Newport women's lacrosse team built an early lead and never looked back as the Captains rolled past Lynchburg, 16-5, on a cool Wednesday evening at Jennings Family Stadium.

Against the Hornets, Kelsey Winters collected eight points, including five assists. Julia Iapicca and Brookelyn Morrison also landed hat-tricks, while Syd Guidi finished with a game-high four goals. Kendall Krause also stuffed the stat sheet with two strikes, two assists, and a pair of takeaways.

Leading the way on the other end of the field, Madi Rozgonyi added three caused turnovers. Impressively, all three of her strips eventually led to goals, including two of Christopher Newport's first three tallies in the opening period.

Along with Krause and Rozgonyi, Hope Hunter, Maddie Rusinko, and Celia Kelaher all had two takeaways apiece. Overall, the Captains forced 19 turnovers, which equaled the fifth-highest total in school history.

With the victory, Christopher Newport improved to 4-5 on the season, while the setback dropped Lynchburg to 2-6.

Setting the tone early, the Captains were fantastic on the defensive end at the start of the first quarter. Kicking things off, Krause used a trail-check to strip a Hornet on a free-position attempt. Later, Rusinko and Emma Jackson teamed up to steal an errant bouncer in the left corner before Rozgonyi got rolling.

On a clear attempt by Lynchburg, the second-year star knocked down a pass and battled through traffic before pushing the roller over to Rusinko, who grabbed control. Moments later, Winters opened the scoring after burning a blast just under the crossbar.

After Winters connected with Iapicca on the squad's second tally, Rozgonyi came back for more in the 11th minute.

Attempting to cut in front of the cage, a Hornet tried to slip through the center of the zone. Pushing back against the attack, Rozgonyi jumped in front of the cutter and stole the pass before Iapicca capitalized on the other end with her second straight dart.

Continuing the attack, Winters dropped a rainbow to Sloane McDonald, who made an outstretched snag to catch the floater and land a hammer on the inside. Shortly thereafter, Morrison added a leaping interception to kill off a clear before Kelaher pounced on a roller in the final minute, which capped off a 4-0 first quarter.

In the second stanza, the two squads traded punches. Lynchburg opened the scoring before Morrison mashed a man-up missile. Following another tally by the Hornets, Iapicca had a response. Taking care of everything by herself, she cruised down the right side of the field before lowering her shoulder to battle through a defender. Eventually, she unleashed a high-to-low laser for a 6-2 lead.

Continuing the seesaw affair, the visitors retaliated with their third goal before Morrison added her second rip of the quarter. Polishing off the period, the Hornets came back with another tally before Guidi joined the fun.

With just seconds left in the first half, the third-year star unloaded a bullet from close range. Although the Lynchburg keeper made the initial save, Guidi stuck with the play, grabbed her own rebound, and planted a second-chance seed, which gave the hosts an 8-4 lead entering halftime.

After the break, the Captains were hit with an early card, but the penalty did little to slow down their attack. Just three days after tying the single-game school record with five man-up goals against Denison, Christopher Newport deposited a pair of shorthanded strikes against the Hornets.

Kicking off the surge, Winters lofted a feed over three defenders to Krause, who caught the pass, spun, and converted on the interior. Mere moments later, she came back with another assist after finding Morrison charging down the center of the zone for the squad's 10th goal.

Incredibly, that marked just the sixth time in school history that Christopher Newport posted at least two shorthanded goals in a single game, and the squad accomplished that feat on Wednesday in the span of 16 seconds.

With some momentum, Guidi came through with the team's third straight goal of the period after cutting around a defender before landing a bounce-shot into the back of the net.

Although the visitors finally broke through again in the 35th minute, Rozgonyi responded with her third takeaway. On Lynchburg's next surge, she stayed in the face of an attacker at the top of the zone. Refusing to give an inch, she eventually swiped possession away from the Hornet after snatching the ball on a failed pass.

Taking advantage on the other end, Winters slipped a feed over to Guidi, who skipped another shot off the turf for her third goal of the contest.

Holding a 12-5 lead, Christopher Newport never let the opposition back into the game. Continuing to put pressure on Lynchburg's back line, Hunter drew the attention of two Hornets before dropping a dime down to Krause, who scored on the inside. Later, Krause rolled through the circle and cleared out a defender, which allowed Winters to find an opening for her second laser.

At the start of the fourth quarter, Christopher Newport pushed back against several early advances by the Hornets. Hadley Chadwick made a slick save to stone a free-position attempt before Rusinko stripped an attacker from behind following a lengthy rally by the visitors. Moments later, Jackson collected an errant pass that sailed across the zone before scooting up the right sideline.

After taking possession, Morrison completed the clear before shoveling a feed over to Guidi, who wrapped up her day with another missile on the move. Then, Winters capped off the scoring with a fancy strike.

On the play, the senior All-American was stationed by herself behind the crease. Eventually, Lynchburg attempted to apply pressure as a defender circled around the right post. Without hesitating, Winters simply cruised around the other side and landed the final punctuation mark just inside the left pipe.

Overall, Christopher Newport held a 33-19 advantage in shots and a 23-11 lead in ground balls. Rusinko led the squad with four rollers, while Chadwick added three to go along with six saves. The Captains also controlled 12 draws during the game, including five by Guidi.

Christopher Newport will return to action on Saturday when the squad caps off a seven-game homestand with a noon test against Rowan.

---ISH---