NEWPORT NEWS, Va. – Fourth-ranked Christopher Newport used a five-goal run at the end of the first quarter to produce a 13-8 victory over Washington and Lee in men's lacrosse action on Wednesday afternoon at Jennings Stadium.
 
The Generals (4-5) opened an early 2-1 lead on the strength of unassisted goals from senior midfielders Tommy MacCowatt (New Vernon, N.J. / Delbarton) and Braden Rhone (Dallas, Texas / Episcopal).  The Captains (10-0) knotted the game at 2-2 with 9:30 left in the first quarter on a goal by sophomore midfielder Andrew Cook and they closed the quarter with four more scores for a 6-2 lead after one quarter.  Cook scored once more during the run, while graduate attackman Dylan Rice notched two tallies as well during the stretch.
 
W&L began the second quarter with an unassisted goal by junior midfielder Henry Holliday (Washington, D.C. / St. Albans) at the 11:59 mark, but CNU responded with a goal just 47 seconds later to make it a 7-3 game.  The Blue & White got on the board again at 10:13 when sophomore attackman Alex Brown (Norwalk, Conn. / Taft School) scored unassisted, but Rice notched his third goal of the day to keep the CNU lead at four goals (8-4).
 
MacCowatt posted his second goal of the day with 8:00 left in the quarter to pull W&L within 8-5, but CNU end the first half with a pair of scores to carry a 10-5 lead into the intermission.
 
The Captains tacked on two more goals to start the third quarter, but W&L closed the penultimate quarter with two straight goals, one by sophomore midfielder Leif Smith (Virginia Beach, Va. / Norfolk Academy) and another by junior midfielder Adam Lamberti (Bel Air, Md. / McDonogh), to pull within 12-7 entering the final period.
 
Brown scored his second goal of the day off an assist from Lamberti with 3:42 remaining, but W&L could get no closer.
 
Christopher Newport held a 51-23 advantage in shots and a 42-34 lead in ground balls.  The Captains also won the faceoff battle, 13-12, and they forced 27 W&L turnovers.
 
Brown and MacCowatt scored two goals each, while Lamberti tallied one goal and two assists to lead the W&L offense.  Junior long-stick midfielder Boots Lackey (Alexandria, Va. / The Heights School) recorded career-bests in ground balls (7) and caused turnovers (4), and senior goalkeeper Nick Spagnoletti (Madison, N.J. / Madison) registered a career-high 21 saves.
 
Rice, Cook and senior midfielder Brady Altobello paced the Captains with three goals and one assist apiece.  Junior Zac Hanway posted six saves in goal.
 
Washington and Lee will be back in action on Saturday when it hosts Roanoke College for a 2:00 pm contest.