No. 1 ranked Christopher Newport University men’s lacrosse team has national championship aspirations
It is only natural that the Christopher Newport University men’s lacrosse team begins the postseason today, in a home game at 4 p.m. against No. 3 Salisbury for the championship of the Coast-To-Coast Athletic Conference, with Division III national championship aspirations.
The Captains are 16-0, lead the nation in scoring margin at 12.25 goals per game and routed then No. 1-ranked Salisbury 17-7 at Jennings Family Stadium, the site of the conference final. CNU has been ranked No. 1 for the first time in program history in the three weeks since.
But Captains coach Mikey Thompson knows a little something about national championships, having assisted Dom Starsia on the University of Virginia’s NCAA title team in 2011. Starsia, who guided the Cavaliers to four national titles and 13 Final Fours, often cautioned his players about overconfidence.
“He’d tell them there is no ‘deserve’ in sports,” Thompson said. “He’d say, ‘Just because you’ve worked hard and done all of the right things, there’s a good chance the teams [left] at the end are doing all the right things.’
“‘There’s no deserve. You’ve got to make it happen.’”
It is a message that has registered with Max Wayne, a fifth-year senior and team co-captain. It rings especially clear as the Captains prepare for a rematch with 2021 national runner-up Salisbury — a team that eliminated the Captains from last year’s Final Four and had dominated the series with CNU until three weeks ago.
“Coach Thompson preaches having a neutral mindset and staying humble,” Wayne said. “The takeaway from that is you can’t be cocky because success just doesn’t happen.
“You can’t replicate success without the same effort, preparation and execution. We’ve never been the favorite before, we’ve always been the underdog, but it’s important to remember that Salisbury is definitely a team that can play better and beat us.”
Nevertheless, the 2022 Captains are so complete that they certainly “deserve” the label of favorites. For starters, the Captains are one of the nation’s deepest and most experienced teams.
On a roster with an eye-opening 57 players, nine are fifth-year seniors or, as Thompson points out, “almost a fifth class.” Wayne, who Thompson says is a legitimate Premier Lacrosse League prospect, credits the variety of postgraduate offerings at CNU for making that possible.
“We’re fortunate there are a lot of academic options for fifth-year seniors,” he said. “There are masters in financial analysis, teaching, computer science and environmental science — something not many Division III schools have.
“That makes it easier for a fifth-year senior to stay.”
Thompson said, “National championship teams come down to senior leadership. All 57 guys are invested in our success. Not many quit or transfer, and that gives you a strong roster from top to bottom.”
It is a roster that Thompson says has been “super-efficient on both sides of the ball.” Wayne and Phoenix Hines, also a fifth-year senior, and goalkeeper Zac Hanway are standouts on a defense that is first nationally in turnovers caused (18.31 per game) and eighth in fewest goals allowed (7.31).
Freshman Warner Cabaniss has won 67% of his faceoffs this season, 18 of 26 in the earlier meeting with Salisbury. That’s an improvement and a key statistic, Wayne says, because the more possessions you get, the better your chance to win.
Wayne added that the offense, which ranks fourth nationally at 19.56 goals per game, is more free-flowing and less scripted than in the past. The result has been school records of 60 goals and 90 points from fifth-year senior Dylan Rice and 41 assists from breakout star Colby Auslander.
Wayne feels the experience of reaching the Final Four a year ago adds a layer of belief that the Captains can contend for a national title this year. Thompson agreed, and added it also gave the Captains a desire to complete “unfinished business.”
A national title would cap a meteoric rise for a program barely more than 15 years old, but which is poised to remain at the top of Division III for years to come.
“When you have a winning culture, like we had at Virginia, where there are a bunch of guys with high expectations for the team and themselves willing to do all that’s required, you can’t quantify that,” Thompson said. “That’s definitely here in place at CNU now, and it’s something that’s not going to change.”
Today’s game
What: Coast-To-Coast Athletic Conference lacrosse championship
Who: No. 1 Christopher Newport vs. No. 3 Salisbury
When: 4 p.m.
Where: CNU’s Jennings Family Stadium, Newport News
