YORK, Pa. -- The 15th-ranked Christopher Newport field hockey team suffered its second straight one-goal setback as the Captains dropped a 1-0 decision to York (Pa.) in the squad's Capital Athletic Conference opener on Saturday afternoon at Kinsley Field.

During the contest, CNU out-shot the Spartans by an incredible 24-3 margin and led the way in penalty corners, 11-0. Despite the team's success on the stat sheet, Christopher Newport was turned away by the stout York defense as the hosts capitalized on a first half goal and hung on for the 1-0 triumph.

The setback drops the Captains to 6-4 on the season. It also marks the program's first regular season loss in the CAC after finishing with a pristine 6-0 record last year. The victory bumps York to 9-2 and improves the Spartans' record at home to 7-0 this season.

From the outset, Christopher Newport established the tone and controlled possession for much of the first half. Testing the Spartans right out of the gate, the Captains began peppering the hosts with an impressive assault. During the first 12 minutes of action, Madison Doss, Allie Hackbarth, and Carol Thompson all roped on-target blasts, but York's Jessica Everett made three straight saves to keep the visitors off the board.

After their early onslaught was brushed aside, the Captains stormed right back into the Spartan zone and unleashed another rapid-fire attack. Belle Tunstall got things started as the senior drilled back-to-back darts, but both were turned away. Later, Hackbarth and Moira Wright tested YCP's freshman keeper with a pair of shots, but the first-year standout held up against the barrage before her offense finally broke through.

Following CNU's unrelenting surge, York pieced together a counterattack. Shortly before halftime, the hosts managed to find a little space in the Captain defense. On the play, Ali Posey snuck free and punched in her 10th goal of the year off a sweep from the right side to snatch a 1-0 lead entering halftime.

Staring at a one-goal deficit, Christopher Newport continued to pressure the Spartans but remained scoreless early in the second half. Everett made four more stops at the start of the period and also capitalized on a strong effort from her defense. On one run, Tunstall found her way up the far sideline and scooted past a pair of defenders before cutting back towards the cage. Unfortunately, the very last line of the YCP defense was able to seal her off and put an end to the impressive streak.

Three minutes later, at 17:30, Tunstall and Thompson slipped free on a two-on-one break down the middle of the field. With control of the ball, Tunstall slid a feed past the last defender. Thompson quickly corralled the roller and found herself one-on-one with the goalie, but her ensuing shot whistled wide left to keep the Captains off the board.

Following that run, York had its final opportunity to extend the lead. With 13 minutes remaining in regulation, a Spartan broke free on the left side of the field and scurried into the Captain zone. One of the last defenders back, Sarah Miller caught up to the ball and disrupted the play just enough to force a turnover and end the threat.

Unfortunately, the CNU offense simply could not find an opening in the York zone. With 11 minutes left, the visitors earned a pair of penalty corners and fired three shots, but one was blocked and the other two were saved by Everett, including a nice stop on a high-spiraling shot that looked destined for the back of the cage.

With time running out on their comeback attempt, the Captains pieced together one last surge. Riley Keeter blistered a shot off a penalty corner that was blocked before Tunstall sent a pair of attempts wide left. Still rolling, Tunstall fired one more bullet following another corner attempt, but Everett slid over and made the save to cap off the shutout.

Everett eventually finished with a career-high 12 stops for the Spartans.

Christopher Newport will look to get back on track on Wednesday when the squad hosts Bridgewater in a non-conference battle at 7 p.m. at Captains Turf Field.

---CNU---