NEWPORT NEWS, Va. -- Advancing to the Coast-to-Coast Athletic Conference Championship for the fifth straight year, the Christopher Newport women's lacrosse team put together one of its finest all-around showcases of the season as the Captains rolled past Mary Washington, 19-11, during a semifinal showdown on a steamy Wednesday afternoon at Jennings Family Stadium.

Headlining a relentless assault, Brookelyn Morrison established new career-highs with nine points and six goals. She also deposited three man-up tallies, which tied her own single-game program record set last year against Rhodes. Rounding out a busy day for the junior All-American, she added four draws, four takeaways, and three ground balls.

Her final strip of the game was her 40th of the year, tying former legend Emily Johnson for the third-highest total in school history.

Along with Morrison's work on the offensive end, Faith O'Connor and Grace Taylor also had career-best efforts for the Captains. O'Connor finished with seven points, while Taylor had six, including four assists. Rounding out the high-volume scorers, Elena Sorkin landed her fifth hat-trick of the year.

Continuing a late-season story line for CNU, the Captains also dominated possession during the contest as the hosts controlled 18 of the game's 32 draws. That marked the squad's fifth straight outing with an advantage on the draw, including top-25 tilts against No. 5 Salisbury, No. 9 Washington and Lee, and No. 17 Roanoke.

Making her mark in the center of the field, Madi Rozgonyi set a new career-high with six draw controls, while Emilie Shoults matched her personal-best with half-a-dozen of her own. Alexa Romero also added a highlight-reel draw in the fourth quarter after flipping the ball to herself before picking it off the shoulder of an Eagle while spinning free for a late possession.

In addition to her work on the draw, Rozgonyi added a takeaway and was a clearing machine throughout the contest. Meanwhile, Wednesday's game was her 79th consecutive start, tying former All-American Emma Jackson for the longest "Iron Man" streak in program history.

Rounding out the game's historic performers, Kate Lamendola came through with five caused turnovers, including her 30th of the year. She became just the seventh Captain in school lore to reach that mark.

Aided by that performance, CNU finished with 20 takeaways, matching the fifth-highest total in program history.

With the victory, Christopher Newport improved to 8-10 on the season and advanced to the league championship, which will be hosted by No. 7 Salisbury on Saturday at 1 p.m. On the other side, the setback dropped Mary Washington to 11-7.

Kicking off the action in the opening quarter, Taylor set up an early strike by O'Connor before adding her own rocket with a spinner around the left post. Shortly thereafter, Morrison earned a free-position attempt and ripped a shot into the top left corner of the cage for a fast 3-0 lead.

Meanwhile, on the defensive end, the Captains put on a clinic. During a slick switch at the top of the zone, Jess Hulse shoved an attacker out of the way, blanketed a second Eagle, and stripped her in the left alley. Moments later, Gabby Saia deflected a pass in the right wing before Lamendola came through with an over-the-head check along the baseline.

Still pushing back against the high-powered UMW attack, Maelyn Eversole killed off a clear with a strip along the left sideline before Carys May did the same thing after grabbing a loose ball in a crowd near the opposite boundary.

Although the visitors were eventually able to chip their deficit down to one, O'Connor responded. After collecting a feed from Morrison, she pushed in and skipped a seed over the keeper for a 4-2 edge.

Unfortunately, the Eagles were undeterred and evened the score with back-to-back goals just before the end of the period.

Back on even ground, Christopher Newport regained the momentum early in the second stanza. Morrison picked off a floater on the defensive end before Lamendola fought through a pair of Eagles to intercept a flip near the restraining line. Saia also wrestled possession away from an attacker in the right alley before shrugging off a physical confrontation to complete the takeaway.

After the two teams traded goals, including a power-play snipe from Morrison, the Captains took control with a huge surge later in the period. Kicking off the late push, Page Henry spun through traffic before sending a pass to O'Connor, who capitalized from the right side. Later, Taylor danced through a pair of defenders on the left wing before sinking her first goal, while Morrison punctuated the first half with an eight-meter dart into the bottom right corner of the cage.

Holding an 8-5 edge entering the break, the hosts stretched their lead in the third quarter. O'Connor cut around a defender and rifled on the interior before Sorkin skipped one from the right side. Then, Morrison caught a pass while splitting two Eagles on a sprint up the left alley before driving home her fourth goal, which handed the squad an 11-5 lead.

Just as relentless on the defensive end, O'Connor flashed her wheels and caught up to a defender before forcing an errant pass on a failed clear. Morrison also came through with another over-the-head strip while Maddie Rusinko won a race for a loose ball in the right corner after Eversole blinded an Eagle with tight pressure near midfield.

Although Mary Washington was eventually able to notch the team's sixth goal, Morrison came right back with her fifth strike after buzzing a missile over the dome of a defender at the end of the third quarter.

In the final frame, CNU pulled away quickly. Early on, Taylor drew the keeper out of the cage with a looping feed towards the left post. After the goalie failed to pick off the pass, Eversole secured it and circled around the crease for a wide-open tally. Less than two minutes later, following a remarkable point-blank save by Hadley Chadwick during a man-down situation, the Captains opened the floodgates.

First, Taylor found Drew Stanley, who snapped off a shorthanded stinger near the right post. Then, just seconds after checking back into the game, Lamendola pushed up the left alley, cut around a defender, switched hands, and sank a lefty laser for a 15-6 lead.

Trying to fight back, Mary Washington scored three of the game's next four goals, although O'Connor helped stem the tide with her fifth tally after breaking the ankles of a UMW defender with a hard cut at the top of the zone. Meanwhile, on the defensive side, Chadwick made a kick save between the pipes to slow down the squad's comeback bid.

With time winding down, Christopher Newport put the finishing touches on the contest. Morrison launched a spinner inside the right post before Sorkin drove home the final two nails, including a fancy strike in the final minute after capitalizing on a screen by Maggie Lockard to avoid a pair of defenders.

Overall, the Captains held a 34-25 lead in shots and a 20-12 advantage in ground balls. May and Lamendola had four rollers apiece, while O'Connor, Eversole, and Rusinko snatched two each. Saia also picked up a ground ball to go along with a pair of takeaways on the back end.

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