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NEWPORT NEWS, Va. -- After an overtime battle with top-ranked Tufts last Thursday, the Christopher Newport men's lacrosse team jumped back up to fourth in the latest USILA National Coaches Poll, which was released by the United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association on Monday afternoon.
In the latest rankings, the Captains secured 453 points in the poll, which slotted them just behind Tufts, Salisbury, and RIT. Following CNU, RPI rounded out the nation's top-five teams.
Along with the squad's 17-16 setback against No. 1 Tufts last week, Christopher Newport already holds victories over No. 7 Gettysburg, No. 12 Stevenson, and No. 14 Lynchburg. The team also knocked off Grove City and Roanoke, who both received votes in the most recent poll.
In addition to their past competition, the Captains have upcoming top-20 tests at No. 10 Washington and Lee on March 31 and No. 2 Salisbury on April 5.
Boasting a 9-1 record, CNU will be back in action on Wednesday when the team hosts Williams at 4 p.m. Entering the midweek match-up, the Ephs are 2-4 overall, including 2-1 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.
Although the squad suffered its first setback of the season last week, Christopher Newport still boasts the nation's third-ranked scoring offense, which is averaging 17.20 goals per game. On an individual level,
Kevin Miller is fourth in assists-per-game (3.60) and 21st in points-per-game (5.40).
Jamie Smith's five man-up strikes also rank 22nd on the national charts.
Along with the high-powered attack, CNU is 13th in the NCAA in takeaways-per-game (13.20) and 17th in faceoff percentage (.677). The squad has also outscored its opposition by an average of 8.10 goals per game, which is the ninth-best rate in the country.
On the other side of the field, Williams has faced six teams this season and all six were listed in the most recent USILA rankings. The Ephs began the year with wins over No. 20 Babson and Union, who was the top vote-getter in this week's "Also receiving votes" category. Later, the squad stumbled against No. 5 RPI, No. 6 Wesleyan, and both Trinity and Bates, who received votes in the poll.
So far this season, Jesse Shapiro is averaging 3.00 goals per game, which places him 64th in the country. Meanwhile, on the back end, Matt Wetmore has a 13.83 saves-per-game rate, which slots 36th on the NCAA charts. Along with the nationally-ranked competitors, Harrison Cross ranks second on the team with 16 points, while Ian Kim has won 56 of his 121 faceoff attempts.
In three previous meetings between the two programs, CNU holds a 2-1 edge in the series. However, Williams won last year's battle, 18-12, at Jennings Family Stadium. During that showdown, Miller and
Brett Jackson both landed a pair of goals for the Captains, while
Warner Cabaniss won 21 of his 31 faceoffs to go along with 12 ground balls.
Following Wednesday's clash, Christopher Newport will wrap up its three-game homestand on Saturday with a Coastal Lacrosse Conference tilt against Montclair State at 2 p.m.
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