LEXINGTON, Va. – Sophomore attackman Alex Brendes scored a transition goal off an assist from senior long-stick midfielder Phoenix Hines just 1:24 into overtime to lift ninth-ranked Christopher Newport to a 14-13 win over Washington and Lee in men's lacrosse action on Tuesday evening.
 
The game was tight throughout, featuring 12 ties and eight lead changes.  The largest lead for either team was two goals at 7-5, which CNU (8-4) seized with a three-goal run to start the second quarter.
 
The Generals (6-4) responded with a three-goal run of their own to take the lead back at 8-7 with 4:30 left in the second quarter.  Junior midfielder Braden Rhone (Dallas, Texas / Episcopal) assisted on the first two goals, including one scored by senior attackman Austin Hudson (Baltimore, Md. / Gilman), his third tally of the first half.  True to the script, the Captains knotted the game at 8-8 before the break on a goal by sophomore midfielder Coby Auslander with 1:57 left before the intermission.
 
Both defenses stiffened in the third quarter and scoring became a premium.  Each team scored twice and the two teams entered the fourth quarter knotted at 10-10.
 
CNU scored two of the first three goals of the fourth quarter to assume a 12-11 lead with 10:01 left in the fourth, but W&L scored twice in a span of seven seconds to wrestle the lead back (13-12) with 6:17 left in regulation.  Rhone scored unassisted with 6:24 left and sophomore Matt Gallagher (Lynchburg, Va. / E.C. Glass) won the ensuing faceoff and fed senior attackman Stuart Greenspon (Aldie, Va. / Episcopal) for a goal at 6:17.
 
Brendes assisted sophomore attackman Robby Adams for a goal at the 4:50 mark to tie the score for a final time at 13-13.  Each team had two offensive possessions in the final minutes of regulation, but could not come up with the game-winner.
 
Gallagher won the faceoff to begin overtime, but the Captains forced a W&L turnover and completed the clear which set up the winning score by Brendes with 2:36 left in the overtime session.
 
CNU held a 42-37 advantage in shots, while W&L won the ground ball battle, 36-35.  The Generals also won 19-of-30 faceoffs in the contest.
 
Hudson and junior midfielder Tommy MacCowatt (New Vernon, N.J. / Delbarton) led the Generals with three goals each.  For MacCowatt, the three goals were a career-high.  Greenspon notched two goals and two assists, as did Rhone, whose four points were a career-high as well. 
 
Junior midfielder Teddy Bentley (Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y. / Cold Spring Harbor) and sophomore midfielder Henry Holliday (Washington, D.C. / St. Albans) chipped in one goal and one assist apiece.  Senior Jack Taylor (Baltimore, Md. / Saint Paul's) played all 60 minutes in goal and produced eight saves.
 
Brendes finished the contest with five goals and two assists for CNU.  Adams totaled three goals and one assist, while Auslander tallied two goals and one helper.  Sophomore goalkeeper Zac Hanway posted nine saves while playing the entire contest between the pipes.
 
Washington and Lee is back in action on Thursday when it hosts Randolph for a 7:00 pm contest.