SALISBURY, Md. -- In a back-and-forth battle that kept everyone on pins and needles for all 60 minutes of a high-octane thriller, the 21st-ranked Christopher Newport women's lacrosse team came up just short in its bid to unseat No. 3 Salisbury as the Captains dropped a hard-fought 11-9 decision during the Coast-to-Coast Athletic Conference Championship on Saturday afternoon at Sea Gull Stadium.
Leaving nothing to regret, CNU gave the Sea Gulls everything they could handle during an epic title bout. The Captains held a lead at the end of the first quarter and fought to a 7-7 deadlock early in the third stanza. Although Salisbury eventually regained an edge, Christopher Newport battled until the bitter end and had several late possessions that kept the hosts on their heels until the final horn sounded.
Headlining the action,
Brookelyn Morrison continued her assault on the history books. The fourth-year phenom finished the contest with a game-high eight draw controls. That bumped her season total to 110, which established a new school record. Former standout Sam Wettengel held the previous standard after collecting 106 draws in 2021.
Equally impressive,
Kate Webb put on an offensive clinic against the Sea Gulls. The championship day star notched her second hat-trick of the season while finishing with a team-high four points.
Faith O'Connor and
Elle Roberts also had a pair of strikes for the Captains.
On the back end,
Hadley Chadwick affirmed her place among the finest goalies in program history. The senior pocketed nine saves, including the 473rd of her career. That moved her past longtime legend Gayle Robinson for the second-most in school lore. Meanwhile, Chadwick also climbed to 13th in Division III history in minutes played after finishing the contest with an astounding 4,181 minutes of work since she made her debut in 2023.
With the victory, Salisbury locked up its sixth straight conference championship while improving to 17-0 on the season. On the other side, the setback dropped CNU to 13-6. Because the league does not have an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament, both programs will be on the lookout for possible at-large berths, which will be announced by the national committee on Monday.
With Christopher Newport trailing by two at the end of the first half, Webb put the team on her back and flipped the momentum with a huge individual performance. Orchestrating a third-quarter cannonade, the junior landed back-to-back blows during a two-minute blitz. First, she used a fancy fake-and-finish to torch the goalie on the doorstep. Then, just moments later, she caught a toss from O'Connor and used a scoop shot to wrap a worm-burner around the ankles of a defender and the keeper, which knotted the score at seven.
Unfortunately, after Webb's second straight strike, the Gold and Maroon retaliated. Salisbury slapped three consecutive goals on the board during a six-minute surge that gave the hosts a 10-7 cushion near the end of the third period.
With time winding down in the stanza, Christopher Newport regained a little rhythm. Finding success on the offensive side,
Brooklynn Peterson looped a forward pass down to Roberts, who snapped off a screamer just before three Sea Gulls swarmed her in the center of the zone. Then, on the other end of the field, Chadwick came through with a kick save before
Jess Hulse pounced on the rebound to stymie the final threat of the period.
Continuing the defensive masterclass in the fourth frame, CNU pushed back against the high-powered Salisbury attack. Making the Sea Gulls jump through hoop after hoop, junior
Gabby Saia threw up roadblocks all over the field. On an early run by the hosts, she won a one-on-one duel in the left wing before chasing another attacker past the 12-meter fan to prevent a pass from connecting in the alley. Later, on a subsequent surge, she came through with a leaping deflection to force a turnover in the right corner during a shorthanded situation.
Although the hosts eventually regained a three-goal edge, the Captains shut out the Sea Gulls over the final nine minutes of regulation, including a nice strip by
Sam Murphy that stopped a cutter from converting on the interior.
Meanwhile, on the other end, CNU found some space in transition during a fast-break opportunity with three minutes left on the clock. Working quickly,
Elena Sorkin sped up the right sideline before connecting with
Annabella Burke. After collecting the feed in the right wing, the freshman spun and tossed a dart to O'Connor. With two defenders in tow, the junior planted the orb into the top left corner of the cage to chip Salisbury's lead down to 11-9.
Still staring at a two-goal hole, the Captains kept their collective nose to the grindstone and refused to go down quietly. On the ensuing draw,
Megan Rotzler launched a rope to Morrison, who quickly scooted into the offensive end. Looking to find an opening, CNU generated a pair of free-position attempts, but the Sea Gulls held up against both tries before regaining possession.
With just over a minute left in regulation, Salisbury attempted to clear the back end, but Christopher Newport built a wall along the midfield meridian. Trying to cause a turnover, Burke blanketed a defender in the center of the zone before O'Connor and
Molly Campbell pinched off a rush along the right sideline. Seconds later,
Kate Lamendola stonewalled a midfielder and forced her into a 10-yard retreat before the Sea Gulls whistled for a timeout.
Giving the hosts a moment to ponder a new clearing strategy, the stoppage did little to thwart CNU's resolve. After the brief break, Murphy prevented a Sea Gull from cutting towards the middle of the turf. Her pressure forced the midfielder to tiptoe along the right sideline, but O'Connor scooted in and launched the player over the boundary to complete the takeaway with 27 seconds left in regulation. Unfortunately, the Captains could not quite capitalize on the last-minute possession as Salisbury held on for the victory.
Packing a season's worth of highlights into a single contest, Morrison stuffed the stat sheet with two points, two takeaways, and a pair of ground balls to go along with her eight draw controls. Campbell and Chadwick also scooped up two rollers apiece.
Overall, Salisbury held a 28-20 lead in shots and an 18-12 advantage in ground balls. Meanwhile, the two teams split the game's 22 draws. Helping control the middleground, Rotzler was a revelation in the circle. The freshman played a key role in directing the draws while allowing Morrison to clean up on the outside.
Long before the game came to a close, the hosts stormed out to a fast 2-0 lead before the Captains battled back. Kicking off the action, Webb flashed her athleticism. The agile attacker broke the ankles of a defender with a hard cut behind the cage. After leaving the Sea Gull sprawled out on the turf, Webb spun around the left post and hammered a high heater over the shoulder of the goalie for CNU's first tally.
Later, Morrison continued to work her magic on free-position attempts. With two minutes left in the opening period, the eight-meter mage launched a laser into the top right corner of the cage. That marked her 13th free-position goal of the year, equaling the 10th-most by a Captain in school history.
Only a minute later, O'Connor continued the attack and gave the visitors a 3-2 lead with one of the crazier goals of the season. Wiggling her way through traffic, she was hounded in the right alley. Trying to find some space, she managed to uncork an attempt while getting drilled by a Sea Gull. From there, physics took over as the ball embarked on a bold venture. The shot clanked off the left post, bounced off the leg of a defender, and spun right past the goalie before ending its run in the back of the net.
As the offense found its footing, the defense kept Salisbury's attack real quiet. Chadwick gobbled up a bounce shot on a free-position attempt, while Campbell shoved a shooter off her mark in the right wing. Later, Morrison came through with a pair of strips, including a terrific trail-check after stalking her prey on a run down the left alley.
With the tide turning towards Christopher Newport's sideline, Salisbury settled in and prevented CNU's momentum from bubbling over into the second stanza. Flipping the script, the Sea Gulls scored four straight tallies to turn their one-goal deficit into a 6-3 lead.
Despite the momentary stumble, a cavalcade of Captains stepped up on the defensive end to slow down Salisbury's surge.
Lexi Larson put together a great ride to stay with a shooter and cause a rip to sail over the crossbar. Shortly thereafter, Campbell wrenched a ball loose in the left wing and made a heads-up play to stop a deflection from trickling through the crease after an initial save by Chadwick. Then,
Sam Manico used tight pressure to kill another rally while preventing an on-target attempt.
Later in the period, another Salisbury attacker posed a genuine risk in the left alley, but Hulse held firm. Mirroring the Sea Gull through a series of dodges, she eventually forced a pass, which Morrison helped knock away at the top of the zone.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the field, Christopher Newport fired back. Piecing together an unbridled attack, the Captains connected twice in the final three minutes of the first half. Kicking things off, Lamendola snapped a sidewinder around a pair of defenders following a flip from Morrison. Later, Webb dropped a dime to Roberts, who slipped behind the defense and blistered a one-timer through the keeper, which sliced Salisbury's lead down to 7-5 entering halftime.
Although CNU continued its comeback after the break and eventually evened the score in the 34th minute, the Captains could not quite complete their spectacular bid to unseat the six-time league champions.
For their performance in the playoffs, Saia, Morrison, and Webb all received an All-Tournament citation. Coupled with her award-winning work as a freshman and sophomore, Saia became just the third player in program history to garner All-Tournament accolades during each of her first three seasons at CNU. In that exclusive club, she joined CNU Hall of Famers Meghan Harkey and Kaitlin Quigley, who were recognized during each of their four years in the USA South Athletic Conference from 2008-11.
After a little Sunday silence, the Captains will find out what the future holds for the squad on Monday at 10:30 a.m. when the official NCAA Selection Show airs on NCAA.com. Entering the weekend, CNU was slotted 20th in the NCAA Power Index, which is used to determine who advances to the national tournament. The 47-team bracket includes 30 automatic qualifiers and 17 at-large selections.
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