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MIDDLETOWN, Pa. -- With a 1-0 win at Penn State Harrisburg on Saturday, the 15th-ranked Christopher Newport women's soccer team secured the top seed in the Capital Athletic Conference Tournament, earning the program's fourth straight CAC regular season championship.  After an early goal in the second half by Kimmie Kerstiens,  and another stout defensive performance, CNU improved to 13-1-1 overall with a 7-0-1 record in conference play. 

The host Lions fell to 6-11 overall with a 3-5 record against the league with the setback. With only one game left on the conference schedule, the Captains can win the 2016 regular season title outright by picking up at least one point against Marymount University on Wednesday, October 26. CNU can do no worse than a tie for the league title, leading St. Mary's (Md.) by a game and holding the tiebreaker against the Seahawks. 

On Saturday afternoon, the nationally-ranked Captains were surprised by an aggressive attack from the Lions in the opening half, as junior goalkeeper Carly Maglio had her busiest half of the season. Penn State Harrisburg outshot the Captains in the first half, 11-3, including seven shots on-goal. Maglio was up to the task each time, though, and kept her clean sheet in tact as the CNU defense weathered the early attack. 

After the break, though, the Captains flipped the script on the Lions and the defense put together another stellar performance. The back line would only allow two shots after the intermission, and neither were on-goal.  Kira Warner, Lauren Ciccone, Shaye Doherty and Keiley McCarthy were the defensive unit that stifled the Penn State Harrisburg attack in the second 45 minutes of action. 

On the other end, the CNU offense cashed in on the game-winning goal just over two minutes into the second stanza. For the 28th time in her career, senior Victoria Perry set up the goal, and Kerstiens put away her fourth goal of the year to get the Captains on the board. Perry's assist gives her 102 career points, just one shy of Emma O'Reilly's all-time record for scoring. Kerstiens is the fourth CNU player to register double-figure scoring this season, picking up her 10th and 11th points with the tally. 

CNU outshot the home team, 7-2, after halftime, including four shots on-frame. The Captains were outshot in the game for just the second time this season, as the Lions finished the contest with a 13-10 advantage in total attempts. 

Maglio's ninth shutout of the season moves her into a tie for third on the single season chart, while picking up her 15th career clean sheet. She now has 29 career wins, fourth on the all-time list, and just one win shy of Dineen Sampson's 30 which ranks third. 

The Captains will return to action on Sunday, hosting a non-conference matchup against 19th-ranked Lynchburg College at 5:00 pm. It will be the first time since early September that CNU has played on back-to-back days, when they defeated DeSales and Wheaton in the Captains Classic. Live stats and a live video webcast will be available at CNUsports.com/live.