HAMPDEN-SYDNEY, Va. -- Staring at an early deficit, the fourth-ranked Christopher Newport men's lacrosse team quickly climbed out of the hole with an electric second-quarter surge before rolling to a 15-9 victory over Hampden-Sydney during the squad's season opener on Saturday evening at Helmuth-Gibson Field.

Outscoring the Tigers 5-1 in the second stanza, the Captains flipped a two-goal deficit into a 7-5 halftime lead. From there, the visitors took control as CNU opened the second half with four straight strikes before easing into the victory.

Alex Brendes collected a game-high five points after notching three goals and a pair of assists. His final helper of the contest was his 232nd career point, tying former All-American Matt Crist for the second-most in school history. Meanwhile, Andrew Cook added a hat-trick as well. With that performance, he now has 120 career goals, moving past former legend Brady Altobello for the most by a midfielder in program lore.

Along with the history-makers, Robby Adams also contributed a hat-trick for the victors, while Coby Auslander handed out four assists. Overall, eight different players registered at least one point during a well-balanced assault.

Continuing to feed the high-powered attack, Warner Cabaniss dominated on faceoffs. The two-time All-American won 20 of his 23 battles while collecting 13 ground balls. His 20 victories equaled the ninth-highest total in program history, while his 13 rollers tied the eighth-most by a Captain.

On the back end, Zac Hanway collected 11 saves, including the 600th of his career. He became just the second goalie to reach that plateau, joining All-American Matt Hayden, who pocketed 635 during his record-setting tenure from 2014-17.

The victory also marked Hanway's 50th career triumph in the cage. He is the only Captain to reach that benchmark.

Overall, the win was Christopher Newport's fifth straight in a season opener dating back to 2020. It also was the program's seventh consecutive triumph over Hampden-Sydney.

After the hosts slipped out to an early 3-0 advantage, CNU quickly chipped away. Picking up right where he left off last season, Cook whistled a one-timer from the left side after Brendes drew a slide at the top of the zone. Moments later, with the shot clock winding down, Drew Miller pushed up the right edge of the crease and sank a turn-around goal just inside the post, which cut the team's deficit down to 4-2.

Meanwhile, on the defensive end, the Captains settled in at the end of the opening period. Brett Kelley had a great ride to force an attacker around the cage before Mark Davison pounced on a loose ball. Moments later, Hanway came through with a tricky save, dropping to his knees to stone a rip near the left post.

Continuing to push back against the hosts, the Captains withstood a quick transition by the Tigers. Trailing the play, Ryan Cammarata caught up to a streaker and leveled the shooter at the last second to force an off-balance attempt, which spun past the cage.

Continuing his solid work in the second stanza, Cammarata kicked off the new period with a trail-check to cause another shot to sail wide. Later, Henry Crean rode an attacker up the left alley to force a tough angle on a Hampden-Sydney blast, which Hanway easily handled.

Still shining on the back side, Aidan Wheeler stood up an attacker at the top of the zone before Davison won possession of a roller down low. Minutes later, Brandon Young drove an attacker over the end line to cause a turnover before Ryan Young forced a shooter off his mark on a fast-break, which killed off another surge.

With the defense doing its job, the attack went back to work. After the hosts came through with a great save on a missile by Brendes, Adams stuck with the play and killed the clear attempt with a takeaway in the right corner to earn a second opportunity. Taking advantage, the Captains went around-the-horn during a man-up situation before Miller sank a shot on the interior.

Finding some momentum, Brendes dotted the top left corner of the cage with a screamer in the 28th minute to pull the Captains back within one at 5-4. Shortly thereafter, the visitors leveled the score with an acrobatic rally.

With two minutes remaining in the first half, Luke Nardone was upended by a pair of defenders, but he managed to keep his footing long enough to shovel the ball to Cook. Looking to capitalize, Cook was tripped by a third Tiger, but he flipped possession to Cammarata just before hitting the turf.

Adding a solid punctuation mark to the play, Cammarata circled the crease and dropped in a hammer from close range to knot the score at five.

Still rolling towards halftime, Adams shrugged off a brutal hit on the inside while jamming home his first goal before Cook buried one under the crossbar for a 7-5 edge entering the break.

In the second half, Christopher Newport continued its assault with a pair of tallies during unsettled situations. First, Cook split the defense with a transition tracer before assisting on a dagger by Brett Jackson after another failed HSC clear.

As Cabaniss kept the ball planted on the offensive end with continued success on faceoffs, the Captains slowly pulled away. Easton Lanclos showed incredible vision after slicing a feed through heavy traffic, which resulted in another goal by Brendes. Less than two minutes later, after Cammarata jostled the ball loose with a stick lift on a failed clear by the Tigers, he capitalized on his own efforts with another long-pole laser for his second strike of the contest.

Trailing 11-5 late in the third quarter, Hampden-Sydney managed to pull back within three, but CNU kept the Tigers at arm's length.

On the defensive end, Zack Sands and Ryan Almassian pestered an attacker with a physical assault along the restraining line to end HSC's final rally of the third stanza. Then, with a fresh 15 minutes on the clock, Brendes and Jackson helped out on the back end as the two offensive stars stayed on the field during a quick clear by the Tigers. They crossed midfield, stormed up the turf, and badgered an attacker with a barrage of stick checks before Brandon Young raced in, dropped his shoulder, and forced a low-percentage attempt.

Meanwhile, the offense continued to click. After their work on the other end of the field, Jackson rifled a rocket from long range before Brendes took advantage of a screen by Daniel Siaton, which led to the team's 13th goal.

With time winding down, Adams added the final two punctuation marks. After Auslander tracked down a loose ball and batted it around a defender, he scooped it up and fed it back to Adams, who laced a shot from the top of the zone. Later, with only a few minutes remaining in regulation, the fifth-year phenom completed his hat-trick with a scorcher inside the right pipe.

Looking to close out the contest in style, Davison had tight defense on an attacker while walling off a wraparound attempt along the right side of the crease. Later, after a timeout, Wheeler won a race for a bouncer on an errant pass before Ryan Young locked down the right wing during a man-down situation to end the final possession of the game.

Overall, Christopher Newport held a 50-40 advantage in shots and a 45-34 edge in ground balls. The Captains also won 23 of the game's 27 faceoffs, including a 3-for-4 effort by Michael Brost.

CNU will return to action on February 17 when the team hosts Berry in the home opener at 1 p.m.

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