SALISBURY, Md. -- Sarah Miller scored for the second straight game and Savanah Cummings came through with 17 saves, but the Christopher Newport field hockey team fell behind late and could not overcome its deficit as No. 1 Salisbury scored three unanswered goals to steal a 4-1 decision during a Capital Athletic Conference battle on Tuesday evening at Sea Gull Stadium.

Miller evened the game at one after converting a penalty stroke six minutes into the second half, but Salisbury quickly responded and pulled away with a late surge. Although the Sea Gulls came out on top, Cummings was tremendous between the pipes. The second-year standout registered a career-high 17 saves, which ranks sixth on the program's all-time single-game list. It also stands as the most by a Captain since the 2003 campaign.

With the victory, Salisbury improves to 11-1 on the season and 2-0 in league play. The setback drops CNU to 8-5 overall and 1-2 in the CAC.

From the outset, Christopher Newport's defensive unit had its hands full with the Sea Gulls. In the first few minutes, the hosts pieced together a bit of breakaway on the far sideline. Streaking down the field with numbers, Salisbury was able to find some space to work with, but Cummings came out of the cage to kick away the roller. Later, CNU shut down a corner attempt and Cummings made her second save to keep SU off the board.

Looking to respond, the Captains were just inches from their own streak after Madison Doss slipped past the defense on a run up the middle of the field. Unfortunately, a long feed scooted just beyond her stick to end the threat. Later, Belle Tunstall kept the ball in Salisbury's zone on the near side and cut towards the cage, but the final defender was able to snuff out the play before she could unload a shot.

After withstanding a pair of scares, the Sea Gulls went back to work on the offensive end. At the 12-minute mark, the squad came barreling towards the cage, but Cummings and Miller sealed off the far post to stop the assault. One minute later, the hosts pumped another shot, but Cummings brushed it aside again.

Continuing their ambush, the Sea Gulls earned four straight corners during the middle of the period, but the CNU defense continued to hold up. Tunstall made solid plays on back-to-back corners to interrupt the Salisbury attack. Shortly thereafter, on SU's final attempt, she intercepted a pass and cleared the ball to give the Captains' defense a brief respite.

Unfortunately, SU was only momentarily stymied and quickly took control again. With 14 minutes remaining in the period, Cummings came out of the cage to contest a shot. Despite the disruption, Casie Preisch was able to secure a feed from Samantha Johnson and pound the ball past the Captains to give Salisbury a 1-0 advantage.

Four minutes later, CNU earned its first corner and attempted to respond. Although the visitors were able to snap off a shot, Moira Wright's blast was batted away by Salisbury's Rachel Clewer to keep the Captains off the board.

After surviving Christopher Newport's attempt, Salisbury closed out the half with one final offensive surge. The hosts fired the last three shots of the period, but Cummings stopped every one. Her finest moment came with eight minutes left as she made a sprawling save along the near post. Laying out, she cut off a point-blank bullet following a penalty corner to help keep the deficit at one entering halftime.

Following the break, Cummings continued her remarkable performance with five more saves during the first four minutes of action. Needing to give their goalie a little support, the offense finally broke through after the early defensive stand. Following a corner, Salisbury committed a foul, which gave CNU a penalty stroke. With an open look, Miller took the attempt and spun a strike past Clewer to even the score at one.

Unfortunately, Salisbury had an immediate answer. In the 44th minute, Natalie Wilkinson broke the deadlock after deflecting a pass from Mallory Elliott into the cage. Needing some insurance, the Sea Gulls kept the pressure on the Captains. The hosts continued to poke at CNU, but Cummings was able to hang tough with four more stops. Alexa Hendrickson and Mackenzie Neylon also helped to clamp down on the back end to keep the deficit at one.

Unrelenting, Salisbury never slowed down and eventually broke through with a pair of goals to put the game out-of-reach. During a two-minute stretch in the middle of the second half, Abbey Shobe and Mallory Elliott both found openings to snatch a 4-1 edge with 12 minutes left in regulation. Unfortunately, the Captains were unable to mount a response as the Sea Gulls quieted any thoughts of a comeback to seal the three-goal victory.

Overall, Salisbury held a 34-4 edge in shots and a 17-3 lead in corners. The Captains kept it close with a strong defensive effort as CNU led the way with 18 saves. In addition to Cummings' 17 stops, Bailey Lien also added one in relief to close out the contest. The 18 saves marked the eighth-highest single-game total in program history.

Christopher Newport will return to action on Friday when the squad begins a two-game homestand with a 6 p.m. battle against Centre.

---CNU---