Women's Lacrosse Catholic Athletic Communications

Second Half Surge Pushes Christopher Newport Past Catholic in NCAA Second Round

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. - Catholic women's lacrosse fell to No. 21 Christopher Newport in the second round of the NCAA Tournament, 9-6, on Sunday afternoon.

The Captains outscored Catholic 6-2 in the second half to 
come away victorious in Sunday's affairCatholic led 5-3 as Mattea Del Peschio scored the first goal of the second half in a player-up opportunity with 9:55 remaining in the period. Christopher Newport would score goals with 8:25 and 6:06 remaining in the quarter and Sloane McDonald and Kelsey Winters scored to tie the game at 5-5.

The Captains grabbed the lead with 13:45 to play in the final period as Brookelyn Morrison scored her first 
of the game and 36th of the season.  They would take a two-goal lead with 12:13 remaining, but Lindsay Sawyer answered to pull Catholic back within a goal with 10:53 left on the clock. Neither team would score more nearly seven minutes before Syd Guidi pushed Christopher Newport ahead by two goals with 4:01 left. They would add one final goal to close out a 9-6 victory.

In the first half, Maggie Traynor scored the first two goals for 
Catholic, to tie the contest at 1-1 and 2-2. After Guidi scored her second of the game to give CNU a 3-2 lead, Charlotte Spaulding scored off a Tori Wilsey feed to tie things with 5:30 left in the first half. Izzy Fiore scored an unassisted goal to give Catholic its first lead with 3:34 left in the second.

The Cardinal's defense finished the year with another strong showing, holding Christopher Newport more than four goals below their per-game average
. Rachel Rubenstein added six ground balls and four caused turnovers to the cause while Fiore (3), Riley Martin (2), and Jessie Lee (2) all caused multiple turnovers.

Rubenstein finishes her final season with 80 ground balls and 60 caused turnovers
. Her 60-caused turnovers are the new program record by 13 while her 80 ground balls rank her second in a single season. Lauren Davidson made four saves and finished the season with a 9.29 GAA, seventh-best in Catholic history.