NEWPORT NEWS, Va. -- Despite a six-goal fourth quarter, the sixth-ranked Christopher Newport men's lacrosse team could not overcome its late deficit as the Captains dropped an 18-12 decision to No. 20 Williams on a rainy Wednesday evening at Jennings Family Stadium.

Trailing by five entering the final stanza, CNU deposited six goals over the last 15 minutes, but Williams had an answer each time as the Ephs brushed off the comeback bid. Drew Miller landed a pair of blows in the fourth quarter, while Andrew Cook finished with a team-high five points. Kevin Miller, Coby Auslander, Alex Brendes, and Brett Jackson also had two tallies apiece to balance out a well-rounded attack.

Along with the offensive standouts, Warner Cabaniss won 21 faceoffs, which equaled the fifth-most by a Captain in program history. Especially effective in crunch time, he captured 10 battles in the fourth quarter. That marked the second-highest total in a single period in school lore.

Meanwhile, on the back end, Ryan Young forced five turnovers, and Zac Hanway pocketed 12 saves.

With the setback, Christopher Newport dropped to 7-3 on the season, while the victory bumped Williams to 4-3.

In the early going, the two teams traded blows. After Williams opened the scoring, Aidan Wheeler helped kill off an ensuing surge with a quick clear before finding Brendes in the left alley. Isolated with a defender, he cut underneath and dunked over the keeper to knot the score at one.

Later, after Williams regained an edge, Brendes helped set up the second strike. Flanked by a wall of Ephs, the fifth-year phenom bounced off a pair of defenders, ducked under a third, and flipped a feed to Auslander, who went high-to-low along the right pipe.

The two teams continued the seesaw affair in the second stanza. Following an initial goal by Williams, Kevin Miller landed a counter-punch. Facing a one-on-one along the right pipe, the freshman used a slick swim move to dip under his defender before scoring on the doorstep to tie the game at three.

Unfortunately, the tide quickly turned over the final 12 minutes of the first half. Finding a rhythm, the visitors slapped five straight goals on the board. Although Jackson snapped the streak with a bouncer inside the left post, the Ephs came back with one more dart in the final minute of the period to steal a 9-4 lead entering halftime.

Needing to respond, Hanway walled off Williams' first push of the third period before the attack went to work. Drawing a pair of defenders at the top of the zone, Cook dished to Jackson, who whistled a worm-burner from long range to cut CNU's deficit back down to four.

Later, Young put on a show. The senior defender forced an errant pass with tight defense in the left alley before snaring a failed feed on a clear attempt in the middle of the period. Shortly thereafter, Hanway gobbled up a pair of on-target rips, while Cook skipped home his first goal of the contest with five minutes left in the stanza.

Sadly, Williams continued to find an answer on the other end. The visitors put up a pair of tallies to sustain a five-goal edge entering the final period.

Trying to battle back, Cook was electric in the early going. Just 30 seconds into the fourth quarter, he started a passing clinic with a feed to Auslander, who quickly connected with Drew Miller along the left side of the crease. Later, Cook added back-to-back assists on daggers by Miller and Auslander to help whittle away at the deficit.

However, the Ephs never relented. Williams strung together four early strikes, including a pair of fast-break bullets, to gain a six-goal cushion in the middle of the frame.

Staring at a 15-9 hole, Christopher Newport tried to respond. In the 52nd minute, Brendes bullied his way inside and strung the back of the net while taking a blow to the head along the crease. After the Ephs were hit with a penalty for the illegal hit, Cook pin-balled a shot off the right pipe for the man-up missile.

Later, after an initial rip by Robby Adams was handled by the Ephs, Kevin Miller grabbed the loose ball and cleaned up with a bounce shot to cut into Williams' lead.

Unfortunately, the late push was not enough as the visitors held on for an 18-12 victory.

Overall, Williams out-shot the Captains, 46-38, while CNU won 21 of the game's 32 faceoffs and held a 34-30 advantage in ground balls. Cabaniss collected 12 rollers, while Brendes had three. Nine players eventually had multiple ground balls, including solid work on the back end by AJ Rosacker and Ryan Cammarata.

Christopher Newport will return to action on Saturday when the squad heads to Montclair State for the Coastal Lacrosse Conference opener at noon.

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