Christopher Newport University endured a grueling Saturday against a familiar foe on the lacrosse field.
Salisbury University’s men’s and women’s teams blew away conference-rival Captains in the Coast-to-Coast Athletic Conference Championship games and were crowned kings and queens of the league once more.
Led by C2C Player of the Year Cross Ferrara, the defending conference champion Sea Gulls conquered top-ranked and undefeated CNU 15-10, reducing the nation’s second-best offense to nearly half its regular season scoring average.
Ferrara, the university’s all-time leading goal scorer, was joined by five teammates on the All-C2C First Team, including sophomore Jack Dowd, who netted a game-high four goals in the conference title game, and second-ranked scorer senior Jarrett Bromwell, whose 52 goals only trail Ferrara’s 76.
The emergence of starting goalkeeper Z.J. Shahin earned the sophomore one of SU’s four All-C2C Honorable Mention selections and a career-high 15 saves in the C2C championship.
But the men’s conference title was just half of Salisbury’s Saturday onslaught against its Virginia-based rival.
Entering Saturday as the second-ranked squad in the nation and defending 2021 C2C champions, women's lacrosse obliterated the Captains for the second straight week after ending their regular season April 30 with a 21-7 victory over CNU.
Graduate attacker Emma Skogland and senior midfielder Delaney Hill recorded hat tricks in the Lady Gulls’ 17-7 conference championship win.
The players also headlined the team’s seven selections to the All-C2C First Team, along with junior Erin Scannell and her team-high 59 points of the season.
With the C2C’s Coaching Staff of the Year and Head Coach Jim Nestor at the helm, Scannell earned the conference’s Offensive Player of the Year award, while senior Caroline McKenna earned Defensive Player of the Year honors.
Conference titles now in hand, SU men’s lacrosse will face the winner of a first-round matchup between Stockton University and University of Massachusetts, Boston, while the Lady Gulls take on the winner of Stevens College versus State University of New York, Canton, in the National Collegiate Athletic Association Division III Tournaments.
The 18-1 men’s and 15-2 women’s teams will seek to claim their thirteenth and fifth national championships, respectively, when the tournaments commence over the weekend.
By JAKOB TODD
Sports editor
Featured image courtesy of Brad Boardman.