YORK, Pa. -- Despite a well-rounded effort by the Captains, the Christopher Newport women's lacrosse team dropped a hard-fought 13-7 decision to No. 15 York on Saturday at Kinsley Field and secured the No. 4 seed in the upcoming Capital Athletic Conference Tournament, which will begin next week.

In the regular season finale, Catie Chess led the offense with three goals, while Carly Wilson added a pair. On the defensive end, Hanna Slough came through with 12 saves, and Kirsten Mendelsohn provided a spark on the back line. The junior standout forced a pair of turnovers and collected a career-high six ground balls during a solid performance for the Captains.

With the setback, Christopher Newport wraps up the regular season with a 9-7 record, including a 5-3 mark in league action. The Captains earned the No. 4 seed in the CAC playoffs and will host Mary Washington on Tuesday at 4 p.m. in a first-round bout.

York will enter the tournament as the league's No. 2 seed and earned a first-round bye with a 12-4 record and a 7-1 mark against CAC foes.

Fittingly, in a game with major playoff ramifications, the two squads engaged in an epic back-and-forth grudge match in the first half. Neither squad could pull away as they traded blows throughout the first 30 minutes. The Captains managed to light up the scoreboard first following an outstanding save by Slough, which clamped down on a sustained York run.

Following the defensive play, CNU stormed into the offensive end. With possession, Erin Callahan rolled around the top of the zone, while Chess curled underneath. Taking the feed in-stride, the freshman blistered home the game's first goal less than four minutes into regulation.

Shortly thereafter, Chess struck again to take a 2-0 lead. Following the first goal, Meaghan Galvin won the ensuing draw and burst into the offensive zone after a foul by the Spartans. After settling behind the cage, she sent a pass out to Chess, who bolted in and delivered her second blow just over 30 seconds after her first tally.

Following the early missteps, York shot back with two straight goals to knot the game. Later, the Spartans looked primed for a third strike, but Caitlin Osbourne crashed down on the run and forced a turnover. After clearing the zone, Wilson was fouled and earned a free-position attempt, which she quickly converted to give the lead back to CNU.

Looking to continue the back-and-forth affair, York retied the game at three before Kylie Chaplin dodged a defender at the top of the offensive zone and split two more Spartans on the way to her first goal and a 4-3 edge.

Although the lead was short-lived and the hosts responded with two straight tallies, the Captains never relented. Following a nice defensive stand, which included a save by Slough and a timely ground ball pick-up by Mendelsohn, Chess bullied her way through the Spartan back line and snapped off her third goal from the far side of the field to knot the score at five.

Moments later, Christopher Newport retook the lead with just under nine minutes left in the first half. After Kedron Walsh forced a turnover, Wilson deposited her second free-position goal of the game after a little hesitation move shook YCP's goalie and gave the Captains a 6-5 lead.

Staring at a deficit, the Spartans called for a timeout and quickly regrouped. Only 10 seconds after the stoppage, York pulled even at six. Although Christopher Newport was able to muster another response with a goal by Galvin, YCP eventually took control in the waning moments of the period.

After Galvin's goal gave the Captains a 7-6 edge with six minutes remaining, the hosts controlled the end of the half. York fired three straight goals, including one as the horn sounded, to steal a 10-7 lead entering the break.

Following the late first-half stumble, the Captains attempted to respond after halftime. Controlling the early tempo, Lindsay Weaver blistered a pair of shots, but the first was saved and the second whistled wide. Later, Jen Doering also had a shot stoned by the Spartans' goalie before the YCP offense took control.

Shortly after their defensive stand, the Spartans put their 10th goal on the board with 27 minutes left in regulation. Needing to clamp down, the CNU defense stepped up. Slough made a pair of saves, including an incredible pointblank stop after an attacker slipped free. Later, Mariah Ginebra and Sam Puglisi both forced turnovers to keep the deficit at three closing in on the midpoint of the second half.

Unfortunately, the York attack continued to pressure the Captains and eventually extended the lead to 11-7 with 18 minutes remaining. Following a Christopher Newport timeout, the visitors continued to battle. Slough showed great hustle to beat a pair of Spartans to the end line and gain possession before Puglisi pieced together an outstanding clear with a long run and pass. Mendelsohn also continued her solid work with a caused turnover before battling through a scrum to secure a ground ball to end another Spartan surge.

Despite those efforts, CNU was unable to pull any closer. The York defense kept the Captains in-check throughout the second half before the hosts tacked on two late scores to seal the 13-7 victory.

Overall, York held a 43-17 lead in shots and a 20-13 edge in ground balls. The Spartans also controlled 15 of the game's 21 draws and converted 12 of their 13 clear attempts.

---CNU---