NEWPORT NEWS, Va. -- Senior Samantha Snider scored the game-winning goal off a penalty corner in the second half on Saturday, leading the 16th-ranked Captains to a 1-0 win over Washington & Lee in field hockey action. CNU improved to 4-1 with the win at Captains Turf Field, while dropping the Generals to 2-4 in the young season.

Sophomore Josie Morgan set up the goal by Snider in the 50th minute to pick up her second assist of the season. Junior Bailey Lien made three stops, including a crucial save in the final moments of play to lock up the shutout and pick up her 31st career victory. 

At the outset, it was the Generals that looked to pace play in the attacking third, forcing a pair of corners in the first ten minutes of action. Kendall Bernard blistered a hard shot off the first, but Lien turned away the attempt for her first save. After the initial burst, the Captains settled in and took control of the action, outshooting Washington & Lee by a tally of 6-2 in the first half, including a 4-1 advantage in shots on-goal. 

In the 22nd minute, Mackenzie Neylon nearly scored in a scrum at the front of the goal as she slipped by Ariyel Yavalar, the W&L goalkeeper, and took a shot on frame, but a defensive save by Lilly MacDonald on the far post held CNU off the board. 

The second half followed a similar storyline, with the Generals bursting off the opening whistle and forcing the issue down the field. Maggie Waxter challenged Lien, but the veteran keeper for the Captains made her second stop of the day. The pressure mounted on Yavalar from that point, as the Captains offense shifted into a higher gear. In a span of under three minutes, CNU took six shots, putting five on goal and picking up three penalty corners. On the third, Snider cashed in. 

The ball was injected by junior Alexa Weaver to the top of the circle for Morgan. Morgan dribbled forward past one defender and had a look for a shot with Yavalar in front of her, but passed it up as she saw Snider to the left camped out without a defender on the left post. Her picture-perfect pass to the senior attacker was cleaned easily into the back of the goal for the score. 

With the lead, CNU continued to pressure the young goalkeeper for the Generals, but Yavalar made 11 saves in her first collegiate start.

The Captains held a dominant 14-3 advantage in total shots on-goal, but the last attempt by Washington & Lee nearly forced overtime. After a defensive miscue earned the Generals a penalty corner with 20 seconds remaining, Bernard was loose in the center of the circle for a shot, but Lien sprawled out and got a stick on the attempt to hold onto the clean sheet. It was her tenth career shutout in her 38th career start. 

Christopher Newport will return to action on the road, traveling to Randolph-Macon College on September 23 for an 8:00 pm start.