Live Stats // Video Stream
SALISBURY, Md. -- The fourth-ranked Christopher Newport men's lacrosse team will contend for league supremacy on Sunday at 1 p.m. when the Captains square off with No. 2 Salisbury in the Coastal Lacrosse Conference Championship at Sea Gull Stadium.
Entering the title bout, CNU sits at 16-2 after knocking off Kean, 19-7, in the league semifinals on Wednesday. Meanwhile, Salisbury is one of two undefeated teams remaining in the nation after upending Stockton, 23-3, in the other semifinal showdown. Overall, the Sea Gulls are 18-0 on the season.
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 straight season in which the Captains and Sea Gulls have battled for the league title. Last year, Salisbury posted a 14-7 victory to notch the program's seventh consecutive championship dating back to the days of the Coast-to-Coast Athletic Conference.
The two programs have already met once this year with Salisbury registering a 12-9 win at Sea Gull Stadium on April 5. During that game, CNU held a 9-6 halftime lead and a one-goal edge entering the fourth quarter, but the hosts capitalized on a late surge to lock up the come-from-behind victory.
During that game,
Jackson Platner and
Brett Jackson registered three points apiece, while
Jamie Smith also landed a multi-goal effort. Between the pipes,
Mason Bellinger pocketed 15 saves, which marked his second-highest total of the season. The first-team All-Conference goalie also secured five ground balls in that contest.
For the Sea Gulls, Riley Strub connected on four goals against the Captains, while Ryan Della and Connor Herraiz added two apiece. Blake Malamphy also won exactly half of his 24 faceoffs and scooped up six ground balls.
In addition to their evenly matched regular season battle, Christopher Newport and Salisbury have been statistically similar throughout the year. Entering Sunday's tilt, the Captains are 11th in the nation in takeaways-per-game (13.22), 14th in scoring offense (16.72 goals-per-game), and 16th in faceoff percentage (.653). Meanwhile, the Sea Gulls are fourth in caused turnovers (13.61), sixth in scoring (17.94), and 18th on faceoffs (.649). SU also boasts the country's top-ranked man-up unit (.592 conversion rate), while CNU is fourth (.541).
Fittingly, the two teams also feature some of the most accomplished standouts in the NCAA. For the Captains,
Kevin Miller is third in the nation in assists-per-game (3.56), while Smith is seventh in man-up tallies (11) and 12th in goals-per-game (3.72).
Warner Cabaniss also slots 16th on the national charts in faceoff percentage with a .679 mark.
On the other side, Brice Bromwell ranks ninth nationally in points-per-game with a 5.67 rate and was honored as the league's Offensive Player of the Year. Meanwhile, Nicholas Ransom is fifth in the country in goals-against-average (7.46), and Jeremiah Stafford and John DeFazio both rank in the top-40 nationally in takeaways-per-game. For his work on the defensive side, DeFazio was named the conference's Player of the Year.
The winner of Sunday's game will earn an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. The selection show for the national playoffs will be aired on NCAA.com at 9 p.m. on Sunday evening.
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