NEWPORT NEWS, Va. -- Rewriting the record books with a historic assault, Brett Jackson set a new school standard with 10 goals while carrying the second-ranked Christopher Newport men's lacrosse team to a commanding 22-8 victory over Catholic on a sun-splashed Saturday afternoon at Jennings Family Stadium.
Tormenting the opposition throughout the contest, Jackson was nearly unstoppable on the offensive side of the ball. The sophomore sensation landed 10 goals, which broke the previous record of nine set only seven days ago by Andrew Cook at No. 20 Stevenson. He also added an assist on Saturday while finishing with 11 total points. That set a new program standard as well, topping the previous mark of 10 held by Cook and former All-American Dylan Rice.
Rounding out his historic appearance, Jackson collected three man-up goals during the game. That equaled the school record set by Ryan Merrell against Fontbonne on March 10, 2007 and matched by John Thompson against Coast Guard on March 13, 2015.
Not to be outdone, Coby Auslander added some history of his own. The senior star handed out seven assists, matching Thompson's record set against FDU-Florham on March 11, 2013. He also finished with nine total points, equaling the sixth-most by a Captain in program lore.
In addition to the offensive heroes, Ryan Young forced five turnovers, while Burke Widhelm and Brett Kropinski added three apiece. Overall, the Captains finished with 23 takeaways, equaling the 10th-most in school history.
With the victory, Christopher Newport improved to 4-0 on the season, while the setback dropped Catholic to 1-3.
Although the Cardinals stole an early 2-0 lead in the first quarter, the Captains immediately fired back. Fittingly, Jackson was at the forefront of the resurgence. In the fifth minute, Drew Miller pushed around the left pipe and drew a slide along the crease. With some space in the middle, Jackson grabbed a feed, stormed down the alley, and added a low-to-low laser for his first tally.
Just over a minute later, the hosts came back with the equalizer. Alex Brendes dropped a defender with a devastating screen. Taking advantage, Cook rolled over the top and buried a blast to knot the score at two.
Back on even ground, Christopher Newport capitalized on outstanding defensive work. First, Young de-sticked an attacker on the back end before Jackson whipped a screamer under the crossbar to snatch a lead. Thirty seconds later, after Ryan Cammarata came through with a diving takeaway along the right sideline, Campbell Pozin connected with Kropinski, who stormed up the turf and landed a rocket on the run.
From there, Jackson took over. With six minutes left, he converted his first man-up tally off a feed from Auslander. Later, he used a quick dodge to free up space on the way to his fourth strike before elevating along the crease and dunking on the doorstep to push the lead to 7-2 at the end of the period.
At the start of the second stanza, the Captains stepped up on the defensive end again. First, Zac Hanway came through with a huge man-down save before Widhelm jumped on the loose ball. Moments later, Young chipped in with a stick-lift to end another threat, while Brendes added a takeaway to force Shenandoah into a failed clear.
Meanwhile, the offense never lost its rhythm. Will Mercado joined the party after shaking a defender with a slick swim move before landing a downhill dagger. Then, Jackson came back for more while piecing together another three-goal spurt of his own.
Kicking off his rally, he fired a high blast after beating a defender who was late to close out on the right side of the field. Moments later, after an initial save by the visitors, the ball hit the turf on a failed clear. Scavenging for every opportunity, Jackson scooped up the roller, burst through the zone, and hammered from close range.
Continuing his assault in the 24th minute, he ran a perfect pick-and-roll with Auslander. Setting an initial screen, Jackson disrupted the defense just enough to let Auslander slip free. After rolling underneath, he collected the return feed and sniped from the center of the zone for an 11-2 advantage.
Pushing the lead to double-digits, Miller flashed his skills in the waning moments of the second period. First, he netted a goal after corralling a skip pass from Auslander. Shortly thereafter, he came back with a highlight-reel assist. Snatching the ball behind the crease, he sliced a no-look feed through the defense to Carson Hoffman, who shook the goalie with a pair of shot-fakes before depositing on the doorstep.
With time ticking down in the first half, Miller came back with one more tally. Young forced a turnover, grabbed the roller, and rumbled down the field on a quick clear. Looking to set up the attack, the senior defenseman shuffled the ball over to Miller, who whistled a worm-burner into the cage for a 14-2 halftime lead.
After the break, Auslander capped off a 15-goal run by the Captains with a man-up missile. Although Catholic finally found an opening just a few moments later, Christopher Newport kept its foot on the gas.
Adding an assist to his portfolio, Jackson drew the attention of the defense before dishing to Hoffman, who landed a lefty laser from the right side of the field. Later, Jackson snapped off a step-down screamer for his ninth tally before Easton Lanclos used a speed-dodge to cruise past the defense on the way to the team's 18th goal of the game.
Holding an 18-8 lead entering the final period, Christopher Newport put the finishing touches on a commanding victory. On the defensive end, Cook came through with a diving takeaway to stymie a midfielder in the early moments of the quarter. Ryan Almassian also bottled up an attacker, while Zack Sands came through with his second strip of the contest later in the stanza.
While the defense was silencing the Cardinals, the offense continued to shine. Auslander broke out a split-dodge to shake a defender on the way to his final tally. Just over a minute later, he came back with his record-tying seventh assist after dishing down low to Miller, who punctuated his night with a dip and dunk along the left pipe.
With little left to prove, Jackson came back for history with just under two minutes left in regulation. After Catholic was hit with a penalty, Christopher Newport made them pay again. At the top of the zone, Cook slipped a skip pass over to Jackson, who was planted on the right side of the field. Looking for the record-breaker, he buried a blast just inside the left pipe for his 10th tally of the contest.
Rolling towards the victory, the Captains added one last strike with a freshman connection. With less than 30 seconds remaining, two longtime teammates joined forces. Turning back the clock to their days at Great Valley High School, Daniel Siaton found Brady Mitchell along the crease for the final punctuation mark.
Overall, Christopher Newport held a 66-27 advantage in shots and a 43-31 lead in ground balls. The Captains also won 18 of the game's 33 faceoffs. Cole Evans and Warner Cabaniss both won eight battles, while Dallas Pulliam added a pair of victories. Meanwhile, Hanway finished with eight saves, and Mason Bellinger came through with two stops in the fourth quarter.
Christopher Newport will return to action today when the team hosts No. 12 St. John Fisher at 4 p.m.
