ARLINGTON, Va – The Marymount (Va.) University men's lacrosse team got back into Capital Athletic Conference play on Saturday afternoon, dropping a 14-8 decision to Christopher Newport University at Long Bridge Park.

The Saints (4-4, 1-2 CAC) brought the momentum early on in this one, when sophomore Nathan Beard connected with senior Matt Justice just over a minute into play for the quick 1-0 lead. Christopher Newport answered however, putting away three goals through the remainder of the quarter, one of which was during a man-up situation to take a 3-1 advantage into the first break. 

CNU struck first early in the second quarter to push its lead to three, but Marymount gathered its composure and carried the momentum into the half with two goals in the closing six minutes to trail by just one, 4-3. Freshman Matthew Ebert kicked off the stretch, finding the back of the net with 5:52 left in the first half, before senior Nathan Hupp finished just minutes later to cut the deficit to one with 1:32 on the clock.

The Captains used the first nine minutes of the restart to separate themselves from the Saints with four-straight goals up to the 6:07 mark.

Switching up the player on the faceoff to freshman John Kailunas III after the fourth goal, the Saints rallied into the fourth to get back within two. Winning the ensuing faceoff cleanly, Kailunas pushed the ball forward into the Saints' offensive third. From there, senior Andrew Lee dished off a pass to the long-stick midfield, sophomore Daniel Bothwell, who gathered up the ball to swing in his second goal of the season to ignite a fire in the blue and white headed to the final quarter.

It didn't take long for the Saints to sling away another goal on the restart, after a penalty in the closing seconds of the third by the Captains gave MU a man-up opportunity. Just 36 seconds into the fourth, Beard connected with sophomore Brent Sulhoff to close in on the Captains, 8-6. Just minutes later, senior Maxwell Johnson sent out his lone helper of the day on a pass to Beard, who connected for his first of two finishes in the fourth quarter.

Over the next six minutes, CNU pulled away on a six-goal run, four of which were man-up finishes.

Sophomore Dylan Watkins and Beard finished the game with back-to-back goals for the Saints, but fell short to the Captains, 14-8.

Beard paced the offense with two goals and two assists, and six other Saints chipped in a goal.

Senior Mike Kempel turned away 11 shots while in the net for the full 60 minutes.

The men will look to rally in their next game, as they host CAC opponent York College of Pennsylvania on Wednesday, March 23 at 7 p.m.