Live Stats // Video Stream

SALISBURY, Md. -- The Christopher Newport women's lacrosse team will compete for the Coast-to-Coast Athletic Conference Championship on Saturday at 1 p.m. when the Captains square off with seventh-ranked Salisbury in the title bout at Sea Gull Stadium.

Entering the weekend, CNU sits at 8-10 after knocking off Mary Washington, 19-11, in the conference semifinals on Wednesday. Meanwhile, Salisbury is 13-4, including a 23-1 triumph over Warren Wilson in the league's other semifinal showdown.

For those fans unable to attend the game, live stats and a video stream of the action will be available at SUSeaGulls.com. Direct links to both features can be found at the top of this release and on the schedule page.

This year marks the fifth consecutive season in which the Captains and Sea Gulls have squared off for the conference title. Overall, Christopher Newport has made 15 total appearances in the league championship since the program was founded in 2001. That includes a run of eight straight USA South crowns from 2006-13.

The 2025 roster features a slew of standouts with experience in title bouts. Four current Captains have earned All-Tournament accolades for their work in the league playoffs over the past three years. Senior Maddie Rusinko was celebrated in 2022, Maelyn Eversole was recognized in 2023, and both Gabby Saia and Kate Lamendola were All-Tournament selections as freshmen last year.

Overall, the current squad includes seven starters from the 2024 championship game. Along with Saia and Lamendola, Brookelyn Morrison, Carys May, Madi Rozgonyi, and Hadley Chadwick all started during last year's battle, which culminated in a 15-4 victory for Salisbury. The Sea Gulls, who welcomed back four starters from that contest, eventually advanced to the 2024 NCAA Finals.

The two squads already squared off this year with Salisbury collecting a 10-9 victory in Newport News on April 19. During that game, the Captains held a two-goal halftime lead and a one-goal edge into the fourth quarter, but the Sea Gulls sank the final two tallies, including the game-winner with four minutes remaining in regulation.

Starring in the regular season showdown, Eversole matched her career-high with five points, including four goals. Lamendola also landed a pair of blows, while Morrison had three points and three takeaways. The junior All-American also pocketed six draw controls, as did Emilie Shoults. Overall, CNU held a 15-7 advantage on the draw during that game.

The earlier showdown against the Sea Gulls continued an impressive late-season run by Christopher Newport's draw control unit. The Captains have held an advantage on the draw in each of their past six outings, including high-profile match-ups with No. 5 Salisbury, No. 9 Washington and Lee, and No. 17 Roanoke. During that stretch, the squad has controlled 63 percent of its draws. Extrapolated over the entire year, that rate would rank 17th in the nation.

Fittingly, Shoults was named to the All-Conference squad as a draw specialist, while Morrison and Rozgonyi rank in the league's top-five in total draws this year with 96 and 54, respectively. All three earned first-team All-League accolades and were joined on the top squad by Eversole, Lamendola, Saia, and Faith O'Connor.

On the other side of the field, Salisbury placed nine players on the All-Conference team, including Audrey Harrington, who ranks second in the league with 63 goals and first with 35 assists. The Sea Gulls also boast an award-winning defensive unit, including Abby Fleishell, Reagan Davis, and Natalie Held, who all garnered All-Conference recognition. Junior goalie Paige Ellis was also honored after leading the league with an 8.53 goals-against-average and .451 save percentage.

As a team, Salisbury ranks 12th in the nation with a remarkable .881 clearing percentage. The Sea Gulls are also averaging just 12.35 turnovers per game, which stands as the fifth-best rate in the country. Their 18 turnovers against CNU last month marked their second-highest total of the year, while Christopher Newport's 14 takeaways were the most by a Salisbury opponent in 2025.

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