NEWPORT NEWS, Va. -- The Christopher Newport field hockey team grabbed an early lead against No. 14 Mary Washington, but the Eagles were able to even the score late in the second half and drive home the game-winner in overtime as UMW picked up a 2-1 victory over CNU during the regular season finale on a chilly Wednesday evening at Captains Turf Field.

Carol Thompson gave Christopher Newport an early lead with her fourth goal of the season, but Mary Washington had an answer. Despite a solid performance by Bailey Lien, who registered 13 saves during the contest, the Eagles were able to squeak out the one-goal victory.

With the setback, CNU wraps up the regular season with an 11-6 record, including a 3-3 mark in conference action. Despite the loss, the Captains earned the No. 3 seed and a first-round bye in the upcoming Capital Athletic Conference Tournament. The victory bumps Mary Washington to 14-4 and 5-1 in league action.

Fittingly, after Wednesday's nail-biter, the two teams will engage in a rematch in the semifinals of the CAC Tournament on November 5 in Fredericksburg. The Eagles enter the postseason as the league's No. 2 seed.

Looking to set the tone early in Wednesday's battle, the Captains struck quickly on a gorgeous play in the second minute of action. Thompson and Alexa Weaver snuck behind the Mary Washington defense with Belle Tunstall trailing the play. With the ball, Tunstall ran into the UMW zone before sending a perfect pass to Weaver. With some space, she quickly corralled the roller and dished up to Thompson, who found herself one-on-one with the goalie. In a flash, the freshman unloaded a dart from the doorstep that tattooed the back of the cage and gave CNU a 1-0 lead.

With the advantage, Christopher Newport settled in on the defensive end and quieted the Mary Washington attack. Lien stoned a pair of shots, while Alexa Hendrickson made an outstanding play. With the Eagles mounting a surge, Hendrickson made a huge stop on a deep run into the CNU zone with a clean interception before clearing the ball and giving the defense a breather.

Later, after the Captains had their next two shots turned away by Mary Washington's defense, Lien and Allie Hackbarth clamped down to keep the Eagles scoreless entering halftime. During the final 10 minutes of the period, Lien made five saves, including an acrobatic, out-stretched stop with her blocker along the near post. Hackbarth also cleaned up a pair of corner attempts by the visitors, highlighted by a clutch stab that poked the ball away and cleared the zone on the final corner of the period.

Following halftime, Christopher Newport withstood another run by the Eagles before mounting a response. Early in the second period, Mary Washington had the ball deep in CNU's end of the field. With some room, the visitors sailed a centering feed towards the goal, but Tunstall intercepted the ball and Madison Doss quickly cleared it before any damage was done.

Countering UMW's run, the Captains earned a pair of penalty corners on the other end of the field. Unfortunately, the hosts managed just one shot, and Tunstall's bullet was batted away to keep Christopher Newport's lead at one.

After that point, the CNU defense dug in against a relentless UMW attack. In the 45th minute, three Eagles were breaking free for a moment, but Mackenzie Neylon remained calm. As the last line of defense, the freshman stepped up and disrupted the play before stealing the ball and sending it towards midfield. Lien also continued her fine performance in the cage with four stops, while a fifth attempt clanked off the post after Lisa Murphy cut off an angle and forced the Eagles into a tough shot.

Still on their heels, the Captains withstood two more runs after solid plays by Thompson and Lauren Reinaman. With 14 minutes remaining, the Eagles looked to have a little space on the far side of the field. With no hesitation, Reinaman stepped up and made a sensational stop to stifle the attempt before the visitors could uncork a shot.

One minute later, Thompson took possession on the near side of the field and showed off phenomenal stick skills to clear the zone. After taking control along the sideline, she split a pair of defenders and spun around another to take the ball into the UMW side of the field, which gave Christopher Newport a much-needed respite.

Unfortunately, the Eagles simply continued to attack. After withstanding blow after blow, the CNU defense finally had a misstep in the 63rd minute. Following a corner, Kathleen Namey rifled a shot from the top of the arc. Although the defense was in solid position, the ball deflected off a stick in front of the cage and popped up past Lien to knot the game at one.

Despite the goal, Lien shook off the setback and made two key saves during the final five minutes of play to send the game to overtime.

At the start of the extra session, both teams controlled the ball early before Mary Washington mounted a back-breaking run. The Eagles slipped free and managed to earn a one-on-one situation with Lien. Following some contact in the circle, the visitors were awarded a penalty stroke. With the game on the line, Namey took the shot and snuck the ball into the back of the cage to cap off the comeback.

Overall, Mary Washington held a 22-5 edge in shots and an 18-5 lead in corners. Despite the imbalance, Lien was tremendous in the cage and her back line played well to keep the Captains in step with the Eagles all evening long.

---CNU---