NEWPORT NEWS, Va. -- Kelsey Winters established a new school record for career points, but the 15th-ranked Christopher Newport women's lacrosse team could not quite complete its late comeback bid as the Captains dropped a 9-8 decision to Haverford during a defensive struggle on a sunny Saturday afternoon at Jennings Family Stadium.

Against the Fords, Winters had five points, including four assists. With that performance, she set a new program standard with 349 career points. That eclipsed the previous record of 346, which was set by CNU Hall of Famer Meghan Harkey from 2008-11.

With her four helpers, Winters also moved to fifth in NCAA Division III history with 239 career assists. She now ranks 12th on the all-time, all-division charts as well.

While Winters was pacing the attack, Julia Iapicca set a new career-high with seven takeaways, which also equaled the third-most by a Captain in program history. Additionally, she tied her career-high with six ground balls, matching her performance from last year's showdown with Haverford in Pennsylvania.

Along with Iapicca, Brookelyn Morrison and Madi Rozgonyi also had four strips apiece. Aided by those efforts, CNU finished the contest with 18 caused turnovers, which equaled the seventh-highest total in school lore.

With the setback, Christopher Newport dropped to 6-2 on the season, while the victory bumped Haverford to 4-3.

After the Fords opened the scoring less than two minutes into regulation, Winters and Morrison teamed up on back-to-back tallies. First, in the sixth minute, Winters found her teammate with a floater over the cage before Morrison slammed a shot inside the left post. On the next rally, the two standouts teamed up on a give-and-go as Morrison caught a return feed in traffic before sniping on the interior.

Meanwhile, on the defensive side, Christopher Newport continued to push back against Haverford's advances. Morrison swatted a pass out of the air before Carys May jumped on the loose ball to kill an early threat by the visitors. Later, Rozgonyi planted an attacker into the turf to force another turnover before Maddie Rusinko came through with a suffocating ride and jostled the ball free during a surge on the left side of the field.

Unfortunately, the Fords continued to attack. Eventually, Haverford slapped three late goals on the board at the end of the first period before stretching the lead to 5-2 early in the second stanza.

Looking for a response, Morrison completed a first-half hat-trick after capitalizing on a feed from Sloane McDonald in the 22nd minute. Just over a minute later, Iapicca won a one-on-one battle after rolling over top of her defender before ducking inside and unleashing a bouncer into the back of the net.

After seeing their lead cut down to one, the Fords retaliated in the 25th minute to regain a two-goal cushion.

Following the Haverford's goal, the momentum seemed to slip towards the visitors' sideline after CNU was hit with a card on the ensuing draw. However, on the restart, Iapicca applied pressure and helped knock the ball away from a midfielder before McDonald secured possession and kicked off a successful clear.

Still shorthanded, Winters went to work. Isolated with a player behind the cage, she pushed to her right, cut back, and dipped under her defender. With a little freedom, she cruised along the right side of the crease before pounding a bullet inside the post for her record-setting 347th career point.

Back within one, the defense closed out the half in style. Hadley Chadwick made a difficult save on a worm-burner that nearly snuck through the five-hole before Morrison stripped an attacker from behind to stymie Haverford's final push of the period.

After the break, the Fords regained their two-goal edge before CNU responded. Moments after HC's goal, Iapicca came through with a gorgeous back-check to regain possession. Moments later, McDonald picked off an errant pass and generated a fast-break. Storming up the field, she eventually connected with Winters before collecting a return feed without losing a step on the way to the squad's sixth goal.

Later, after Haverford landed a counterpunch, Winters and McDonald joined forces on another tally. Once again, Winters found her teammate in stride with a no-look feed, which pulled the hosts back within one at 8-7.

Continuing to trade blows, Haverford pulled ahead by two midway through the final frame. Playing with a sense of urgency, Iapicca blanketed the field while giving the attack a series of scoring opportunities. Early in the period, she teamed up with Page Henry to squeeze a midfielder on a failed clear along the right sideline. Later, she added three more takeaways in the period, including an interception with three minutes left and a hustle play that saw her wall off an attacker from recovering a roller less than 60 seconds later.

With another chance to inch closer, Syd Guidi secured a free-position attempt with less than two minutes remaining in regulation. Earning a clean look from the center hash, she pushed forward and banged home her first goal of the day to cut the deficit back down to one.

On the ensuing draw, May battled with multiple midfielders before Hope Hunter came up with the loose ball. Although the Fords held up against the initial rush, Winters helped pressure the Haverford keeper and caused a backwards pass to slip across the end line while giving the Captains one last glimmer of hope with three seconds left in regulation.

Unfortunately, following a CNU timeout, the Captains could not quite muster a last-ditch surge as the Fords held on to secure the win.

Overall, Christopher Newport held a 26-22 advantage in shots and a 19-10 lead in ground balls. Meanwhile, Haverford controlled 14 of the game's 21 draws. On an individual level, Morrison had three draws and three rollers to go along with her four takeaways and three goals. Chadwick also pocketed a pair of ground balls while adding seven saves between the pipes.

CNU will return to action on Wednesday when the squad hosts St. Mary's (Md.) at 5 p.m.

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