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SALISBURY, Md. -- In a battle billed as a heavyweight bout between two of the top teams not only in the Capital Athletic Conference, but in the nation, the 11th-ranked Christopher Newport Captains and 15th-ranked Salisbury Sea Gulls closed out the game in a 1-1 draw. The Captains (12-2-4, 3-1-3) drew first blood on a second-half goal from sophomore Preston Key, but a penalty kick goal later in the stanza for Salisbury (11-1-4, 5-1-1) tied things up and neither team could put away a second tally. 

CNU, who picked up the No. 2 spot in Wednesday's first release of the NCAA Regional Rankings, outshot Salisbury, ranked No. 5 in the South Atlantic, by a 16-6 margin in total shots, including a 6-3 edge in shots on-goal. Key's scoring drive was just the seventh awarded by the Salisbury defense all season, as junior goalkeeper Drew Staedeli continued his stellar season with five stops. 

The defensive effort on both sides of the ball was strong, especially in the first half. Only five total shots were allowed in the opening frame, including an early attempt on-net from rookie Andrew Gogolin when his header forced the Sea Gull keeper to make a save. The Captains nearly got on the board in the 20th minute off a corner kick, when senior defender Tommy O'Neal rose up and got his head on the ball, but his shot went just high as Salisbury avoided another threat. 

On the other side, junior goalkeeper Sam Lesko kept the home team off the board by making a pair of saves. Tanner East lined a shot toward the left side of the goal that Lesko snared out of the air, and Benjamin Aryeetey also had a shot on-goal that Lesko managed to turn away.

With a quiet first half under their belts, the league's top offense started to get better chances in the second half. The Captains scored goal No. 51 on the season in the 57th minute of action when a hustle play by Key got a second attempt that would prove to be crucial. A first attempt at a cross was deflected by a defender, right back to the feet of the sophomore midfielder who decided to take his own shot when given the second opportunity. A low blast off the fingers of Staedeli ended up tickling the twine on the left side of the goal for a 1-0 lead. 

The lead would not stick long, however, as Salisbury answered with the equalizer in the 62nd minute. As the Sea Gulls mounted pressure toward Lesko, a CNU defender was called for a foul in the box, awarding a penalty kick for Salisbury. East stepped in to take the shot and drilled a hard high shot into the right side of the goal to tie the game at one.

With the game knotted at one, CNU remained the aggressor, outshooting Salisbury 12-3 over the remainder of the game. Late in the second half, Staedeli was forced to make a pair of saves, first on a shot by Jalon Brown and then on one by Sean Christein, helping send the game to overtime. In the extra periods, the Captains held a dominant 7-2 edge in shots, but the Salisbury defense was strong, stepping in front of three straight tries in the first OT period, and adding two more blocks in the second. Staedeli secured one final save in the 108th minute as Gogolin put another attempt on-frame. 

Brown and Gogolin each took three shots in the game, with the freshman leading the team with two shots on-goal. East was the only player for Salisbury with multiple shots, as he put both of his attempts on-goal. 

Lesko finished with a pair of saves and one goal allowed in 110 minutes of action, while Staedeli stopped five shots with one goal in a complete game effort. 

CNU has just two games remaining in the regular season schedule, fighting for playoff seeding in the Capital Athletic Conference Tournament. After Thursday's game, the Captains are in third place, with games left at Penn State Harrisburg this Saturday and at home against Marymount next Wednesday, October 29.