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NEWPORT NEWS, Va. -- The fifth-ranked Christopher Newport men's lacrosse team will host No. 1 Tufts on Thursday at 5 p.m. during a top-five showdown at Jennings Family Stadium.

Entering the midweek clash, CNU sits at 9-0 on the season, including 5-0 at home. Meanwhile, Tufts is 4-0 overall and 3-0 on the road.

For those fans unable to attend the game, live stats will be available at CNUsports.com. The Captains will also provide a broadcast of the contest with Andy McGregor and Jake Myers calling all of the action. Direct links to both features can be found at the top of this release and on the schedule page.

Thursday's contest will be Christopher Newport's eighth all-time match-up against a team ranked first in the USILA National Coaches Poll. Among their previous battles, the Captains knocked off No. 1 Salisbury, 17-7, on April 16, 2022 and No. 1 RIT, 15-11, on March 17, 2023. Meanwhile, the showdown with Tufts will be the fourth time CNU has hosted the top-ranked squad in Newport News. Previously, the program lost to Salisbury in 2016 and 2024 along with the aforementioned victory over the Sea Gulls in 2022.

Battle-tested against No. 1 teams, this year's senior class has been a part of four previous games against top-ranked squads. In those contests, Warner Cabaniss has a combined .619 faceoff percentage after winning 60 of his 97 attempts. The three-time All-American has also collected 39 ground balls and a goal in those games, while fellow senior Brett Jackson chipped in with a hat-trick in the 2023 victory over RIT during the Mustang Classic.

In addition to his success against top-ranked teams, Cabaniss is closing in on history. The reigning Coastal Lacrosse Conference Defensive Player of the Week has 592 career ground balls. He is just eight away from becoming the 16th player in Division III history to reach 600. Meanwhile, his 937 faceoff victories place him 11th on the all-time NCAA charts.

So far this season, Cabaniss ranks 22nd nationally with a .692 faceoff percentage, while Kevin Miller is ninth in the country with a 3.33 assists-per-game rate. Meanwhile, Jamie Smith is 17th on the NCAA charts with five man-up goals, and Mason Bellinger sits in the top-50 nationally in both goals-against-average (8.53) and save percentage (.589).

As a team, Christopher Newport is eighth in the country in scoring offense (17.33 goals-per-game), 15th in takeaways-per-game (13.00), 16th in faceoff percentage (.694), and 17th in saves (112). The team's 372 ground balls are also the most in the NCAA. 

CNU is coming off of an impressive showing at the Callum Robinson Mustang Classic last week. The Captains upended No. 8 Gettysburg, 13-4, on Friday before toppling No. 16 Lynchburg, 16-12, on Saturday. During the two games, Jackson and Smith both scored eight goals, while Miller had seven points. Additionally, Cabaniss won 74 percent of his faceoffs, Bellinger compiled a .579 save percentage, and Colin DeGrassi had four takeaways.

Tufts also rolled through the Mustang Classic with a 14-8 win over Hamilton and a 17-11 triumph against No. 3 RIT. The latter victory was a rematch of last year's national championship game that saw the Jumbos post an 18-14 triumph on the way to their fourth NCAA title.

Boasting a veteran-laden roster, Tufts returned all 10 of its starters from last year's championship game. Meanwhile, of the 27 players that appeared in the 2024 title bout, 25 are back on this year's roster, and 11 collected at least one Preseason All-American citation. Among those players, Connor Garzone ranks fifth among all active goalies in the NCAA with 3,523 career minutes and ninth with 733 saves.

Along with Garzone's work on the back end, Jack Regnery was named the USA Lacrosse Magazine Preseason Attackman of the Year and ranks fourth nationally with a 4.67 goals-per-game rate. As a team, Tufts is 13th nationally in faceoff percentage (.708), 21st in scoring offense (14.50 goals-per-game), and 22nd in scoring defense (7.00 goals-against-average).

CNU and Tufts have only met once before with the Jumbos posting an 18-10 win in Massachusetts last year. During that contest, Cabaniss went 12-for-24 on faceoffs with six ground balls, while Jackson added a goal. Tufts was led by Regnery, who had five tallies for the victors, while Michael Ayers had three takeaways and five ground balls.

Following Thursday's action, Christopher Newport will continue its homestand on March 26 with a 4 p.m. match-up against Williams.

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