SALISBURY, Md. -- Despite a valiant effort in the second half, the 13th-ranked Christopher Newport field hockey team could not overcome a two-goal halftime deficit against No. 7 Salisbury as the Captains dropped a hard-fought 2-1 decision during the semifinals of the Capital Athletic Conference tournament on Wednesday evening at Sea Gull Stadium.
 
Staring at a 2-0 deficit entering the second half, Alexa Weaver converted a penalty stroke early in the final stanza to pull within one, but the Captains could not quite knot the score. On the defensive end, Bailey Lien was outstanding between the pipes as the junior made five stops for CNU, while Brittan Muir contributed a pair of defensive saves to help quiet the SU attack.
 
The setback drops Christopher Newport to 13-4 on the season, while Salisbury improves to 13-3.
 
Early in the first half, the Sea Gulls set the tone and pressured the Captains, but the CNU defense looked strong. During the initial surge, Moira Wright cut off a deep run by the hosts before Weaver batted the ball away following Salisbury's first corner attempt. Still on the offensive, an SU attacker sprung free along the near sideline following a long pass, but Wright stormed over and cut off the run with a great stick-check to help flip the field.
 
Shortly thereafter, the Captains had a pair of solid surges on the offensive end. Courtnie Greene showed some fancy stick skills and curled around several defenders to break into the SU end, but Salisbury's back line ended the threat before a shot could be attempted. Moments later, Cori Black stormed down the field and worked her way into the circle, but once again, the Sea Gulls clamped down before CNU could rip a shot.
 
Following Christopher Newport's run, Salisbury answered in the 15th minute of action as the Sea Gulls found an opening off their second corner attempt to light up the scoreboard and nail down a 1-0 lead. Still on the attack, the hosts attempted to gain a little breathing room, but Lien broke up a pass along the near post with a diving play before making a save with her stopper on another SU bullet.
 
Still flying, the Sea Gulls ripped a rocket in the 19th minute, but Muir was there to swat the ball down with a gorgeous defensive save to keep the deficit at one.
 
Needing to give the defense a little respite, the CNU attack mounted a response. In the 25th minute, Josie Morgan battled hard inside the circle to earn the squad's first corner, but the secondary pass just missed the mark. One minute later, after earning another corner, Muir and Black whistled shots, but both were turned away by Salisbury.
 
After withstanding CNU's attack, the Sea Gulls landed a counterpunch and tacked on another goal to steal a 2-0 lead in the 29th minute. Although Carol Thompson shot back and ripped an on-target blast for the Captains, Salisbury's defense swallowed the attempt and sustained the two-goal edge entering the break.
 
Following halftime, Muir continued to do solid work on the defensive end. She made a terrific tackle at the top of the zone to clean up one run before blanketing another attacker and forcing an errant shot just a few minutes later.
 
Following the defensive stand, the Captains answered on the offensive end. Lauren Cheatham was relentless on the attack as she dove along the end line to try and bang home a lengthy feed. Later, after regaining control, she muscled her way back into the circle and was dropped by a Salisbury defender, which earned a penalty stroke in the 41st minute.
 
Needing to capitalize, Christopher Newport turned to Weaver to take the attempt. From seven yards out, the second-year star snapped off a rocket into the top corner of the cage to pull the Captains back within one at 2-1.
 
Looking to pull even, CNU kept the pressure on the Salisbury defense as Black and Lisa Murphy both did tremendous work to keep the ball in the SU zone. Unfortunately, the Captains were unable to break through before the hosts called for a timeout to give their defense a breather.
 
Following the stoppage, the Sea Gulls regained a little momentum and tested CNU's defense, but Lien was up to the challenge. Facing five corners during a six-minute window, the junior goalie made three huge stops, including an out-stretched kick save. Later, Salisbury ripped back-to-back blasts with 15 minutes remaining, but Lien pieced together a magnificent stand. After the first attempt was blocked and ricocheted directly to a Sea Gull on the near side of the field, Lien quickly changed direction and made an acrobatic diving stop to keep SU quiet.
 
Five minutes later, Rachael Allshouse looked to turn the tables on the offensive end. After the Captains worked the ball deep into the SU zone, the freshman standout intercepted a clear attempt at the top of the circle and splintered a bullet back towards the cage, but the dagger spun wide.
 
With time winding down, Christopher Newport called for a timeout with four minutes remaining. After the stoppage, Muir came through with a vital defensive save off a corner attempt to keep the Captains within striking distance. Later, looking to turn the tide, Morgan made a great tackle along the near sideline with two minutes left, but Salisbury regained control.
 
Still battling, CNU kept the pressure on. As the Sea Gulls attempted to run out the clock, Allshouse and Murphy double-teamed an attacker to force a turnover. Later, Murphy intercepted a roller down the sideline to regain possession, but the visitors simply did not have enough time to mount a rally as the clock hit zeros to put an end to their comeback bid.
 
Overall, Salisbury held a 14-6 edge in shots during the game and an 11-2 lead in penalty corners. Despite the discrepancies, the defensive work of Lien and Muir helped keep the Captains within reach throughout the game.
 
---CNU---