NEWPORT NEWS, Va. -- Facing the squad's third top-25 test in the past three weeks, the Christopher Newport women's lacrosse team battled until the bitter end before falling to No. 21 Denison, 12-11, in a dramatic back-and-forth battle on a sunny Saturday afternoon at Jennings Family Stadium.

Evenly matched against the nationally-ranked Big Red, the Captains jumped out to a first-quarter lead and fought to a 6-6 deadlock at halftime. Later, after Denison secured a three-goal cushion in the third stanza, CNU rallied back with a huge fourth-quarter eruption that just fell short in the final seconds of regulation.

During the contest, Faith O'Connor recorded her first collegiate hat-trick, including the game's final rip with two minutes left on the clock. Maelyn Eversole also had four points, including three assists, while Drew Stanley, Elena Sorkin, and Brookelyn Morrison all posted two goals for the Captains.

Along with her two tallies, Morrison pocketed four draw controls, including the 200th of her career. She became just the third Captain in program history to reach that benchmark, joining former All-American Emma Jackson and CNU Hall of Famer Meaghan Galvin.

Meanwhile, on the defensive end, Madi Rozgonyi collected three caused turnovers, while Gabby Saia added a pair, including a clutch strip with 80 seconds left in regulation to give the Captains one final chance to send the game into overtime.

With the win, Denison improved to 6-3 on the season, while Christopher Newport fell to 5-8. It also marked CNU's third one-goal loss of the year, including its second against a team currently ranked in the top-25. The Captains had a similar 8-7 setback against No. 23 Haverford on March 15.

Putting CNU's hard-fought losses into perspective, the three one-goal defeats are already the second-most in a single campaign in program history. The 2005 squad had six such setbacks.

After Denison stole an 11-8 lead entering the fourth quarter, Christopher Newport pieced together another epic rally. Early in the period, the Captains put on a passing clinic with a gorgeous around-the-horn series during a man-up situation.

Kicking off the action, Morrison connected with Grace Taylor, who fired a feed to Eversole near the left post. As the defense struggled to catch up, Eversole flipped the ball to O'Connor along the right pipe before the second-year star found Stanley toeing the crease for her second goal of the contest.

Less than a minute later, after Rozgonyi snatched the ensuing draw, the attack struck again. This time, Sorkin broke out a slick spin move to slice through a pair of defenders in the right wing. Charging in, she bounced off a third player before sniping from the interior to cut Denison's lead back down to one at 11-10.

Although the visitors retaliated with four minutes left on the clock, Christopher Newport fired back. First, on the defensive side, Rozgonyi picked off an errant pass at the top of the zone before flipping the field with a quick clear.

Taking advantage on the opposite end, O'Connor found herself isolated in the left alley. Winning her one-on-one, she burned her defender with a roll to the right before avoiding a slide from a second player. After wiggling free, she completed her hat-trick with a rocket on the inside.

Back to within one, CNU forced a turnover on Denison's next possession. With 80 seconds left in regulation, Saia stayed tight with an attacker who tried to slip loose with a cut-back near the right alley. Staying on her hip, she eventually dropped a trail-check that popped the ball loose before Carys May secured the roller.

After a successful clear and a pair of timeouts, O'Connor barged inside and had a look along the crease, but Denison's goalie made a clutch save. Keeping possession, O'Connor tracked down her own rebound before Sorkin took control while tight-roping along the left sideline. Unfortunately, the team could not quite mount a second rally as the horn went off just before the Captains could take another shot.

Overall, CNU held a 29-23 advantage in shots and a 16-11 edge in ground balls. Both squads also controlled 13 draws. Along with Morrison's four draw controls, Rozgonyi and Emilie Shoults had three apiece, while Alexa Romero added two clutch snags in the second half.

Long before the team's fourth-quarter rally came up short, the Captains secured an early lead. Getting off on the right foot, Kate Lamendola intercepted a pass near midfield before Sorkin kicked off her day with a missile on the move. Later, after Denison shot back with two straight goals, O'Connor unloaded an eight-meter bullet to even the score in the middle of the stanza.

Trading rallies, the Big Red retaliated with another go-ahead goal before Christopher Newport erupted in the final two minutes of the opening quarter.

First, Morrison used a nice spin move at the top of the zone to draw the attention of two defenders. After freeing up some space for her teammates, she hit Taylor on the left wing, who quickly redirected the pass to Lamendola. With some room to work, the sophomore standout landed a low-to-low laser to knot the score at three.

Less than 50 seconds later, the Captains grabbed the lead as Eversole found Morrison cutting down the middle of the zone for her first goal of the contest.

After Denison opened the second stanza with another tally, O'Connor continued the seesaw affair with her second free-position strike in the 19th minute. Fighting back, the visitors connected on two straight goals before CNU's defense settled in.

First, Maddie Rusinko stripped an attacker along the left post, won a scrum for the loose ball, and flipped possession to Hadley Chadwick, who started a successful clear. Moments later, on the offensive side, Eversole scurried around the left post and sank a turnaround tracer in the face of a defender to knot the score at six.

Back on even ground, the Captains continued to shine on the defensive end. Jess Hulse had a quick closeout to prevent a shot along the left post before knocking the ball loose. Later, Chadwick came through with back-to-back saves, while Molly Campbell applied pressure to a shooter along the crease to force a last-second shot to sail over the crossbar.

Still knotted at six entering the second half, the hosts continued their solid work on the defensive side. Rozgonyi picked off a roller in the right corner before Campbell helped bury a shooter into the turf in the right alley. Moments later, May jostled a ball loose for a brief moment. Although an attacker regained possession, May stayed tight and pushed the player back towards the center of the field where Saia stripped her to complete the defensive stand.

Meanwhile, on the offensive end, Morrison painted the top left corner of the cage with an absolute screamer in the 35th minute before Eversole dropped a pinpoint feed over two defenders to Stanley, who capitalized on the interior.

Unfortunately, Denison had an answer. The Big Red eventually scored five times in the third quarter to snatch an 11-8 lead entering the final frame. Then, despite another furious rally by the Captains, the visitors held on for a tight one-goal victory.

Chadwick finished the contest with eight saves, including her 100th of the season. Additionally, May and Morrison both had three ground balls apiece.

CNU will return to action on April 5 when the squad treks to No. 17 Roanoke for a 2 p.m. showdown.

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