WINCHESTER, Va. -- Despite lopsided advantages in both shots and corners, the Christopher Newport field hockey team could not quite crack the Kenyon defense as the Captains dropped a hard-fought 1-0 decision to the Ladies in an overtime thriller on a warm Thursday afternoon at Shenandoah's Sprint Field.

Setting the tempo early, CNU managed to control possession throughout much of the contest and finished the game with a 21-7 edge in shots and a 13-6 lead in corners. Unfortunately, Kenyon was able to weather the storm and eventually capitalized on an overtime strike by Sam Grunder to ice the victory.

With the win, Kenyon moves to 8-4 on the season. The setback drops CNU to 8-3.

Early in the contest, the Captains set the tone and kept the pressure on the Kenyon defense in the first half. After working the ball into the offensive zone, Madison Doss kept it there with a solid tackle before Josie Morgan whistled a shot that was stoned by the Ladies' goalie. Moments later, Rachel Cooke built a wall at midfield and intercepted three passes before Doss laced a long ball from the far sideline that was kicked by a defender and earned a corner.

With the pressure mounting, Mackenzie Neylon and Carol Thompson ripped back-to-back darts off the corner, but both were brushed aside. Shortly thereafter, Alexa Weaver dominated along the near sideline, stealing the ball twice before cutting off Kenyon's deepest run into the near corner in the 13th minute.

Unfortunately, after controlling the tempo at the start, the Captains faced retaliation as Kenyon orchestrated a sustained onslaught, which included five straight corners. Despite the assault, the defense held strong. Bailey Lien batted down the Ladies' first shot before Brittan Muir cut off the rebound with a tackle along the far post. Weaver also got her stick on a shot, and Cooke disrupted a pair of attempts, including the final one that helped flip the field with 10 minutes left in the opening stanza.

Looking to regain some momentum, Thompson took control near midfield and slipped a roller to Riley Keeter, who burned the defense and flew into the offensive end. The Captains eventually earned a corner on the play but came away empty-handed. Shortly thereafter, Morgan swiped the ball back from a defender to kick off a late push to close out the stanza.

With five minutes left in the first, CNU earned three late corners. Headlining the attack, Thompson drilled a shot that was batted down but grabbed control of the rebound. With a second life, the junior stormed towards the cage but was cut off by the last line of defense. Later, Kana Hashigami saved a broken corner and fed a long pass into the circle, but Neylon's ensuing shot scooted wide to keep the game scoreless entering halftime.

Following the break, the two squads traded scoring opportunities. First up, CNU broke loose with a three-on-one in the 44th minute, but the goalie came out to close off Bailey Miller's initial run before Morgan followed with a bullet that deflected wide. Less than a minute later, Kenyon shot back with its own odd-man rush, but Sarah Miller cruised back, jumped into the passing lane, and clamped down on the play.

After surviving the scare, Christopher Newport looked to break the deadlock with mounting pressure at the tail end of regulation.

With 12 minutes left, Rachael Allshouse picked off a pair of passes and added a textbook tackle to keep the ball in the offensive end. Capitalizing on those efforts, the Captains flooded the circle. In tight quarters, Morgan flipped a backhanded shot that was blocked. Later, off a corner in the 64th minute, Allshouse hammered a rocket that was stoned again.

Continuing to push, Allshouse remained relentless on both sides of the field. The sophomore stole the ball twice and weaved her way through three midfielders to push the roller back into the circle. Later, Thompson gained control and blew past a defender, which eventually led to a penalty corner in the final minute of regulation.
 
With one last chance to avoid overtime, Neylon rattled a rocket off the corner, but Kenyon's Sarah Speroff made a game-saving stop after diving across the zone to force extra sessions.
 
Unfortunately, the Ladies were able to strike early during the seven-on-seven session. Although Muir was able to interrupt Kenyon's initial surge, the opposition earned a corner. After inserting the ball, Grunder managed to get the ball back along the near post and banged home the clincher to seal the 1-0 victory for the Ladies.
 
Neylon and Thompson both posted five shots during the game, while Morgan added three. On the defensive end, Lien chipped in with two saves, while Speroff had 15 for Kenyon.
 
Christopher Newport will return to action on Sunday when the squad hosts Roanoke at 1 p.m.
 
---CNU---