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NEWPORT NEWS, Va. -- With a pair of second-half goals, the 20th-ranked Lynchburg College Hornets (20-3-0) handed the 7th-ranked Christopher Newport women's soccer team it's only loss of the season on Saturday night, coming in the second round of the 2017 NCAA Division III Championship Tournament. The Captains wrapped up one of the finest seasons in program history with a 19-1-1 overall record following a 2-1 setback in front of over 500 fans at Captains Field in the postseason tournament. 

"We've played Lynchburg many times and it's always a battle," said head coach Dan Weiler. "It's always a knock-down, drag out; I told the girls prior to the game that they were going to give our best shots at us and that we have to absorb those and give our best shots at them. And tonight, they scored two really nice goals. We had opportunities -- maybe slightly more than they did in some respects -- but the game turned away from us and that's what happens in a competitive setting when you get to this level."

The record-shattering 2017 campaign comes to a close for the Captains in the second round of the NCAA Tournament for the second straight year. CNU set a host of program records including the most wins, finest winning percentage (.929), and most points and goals in a season.  

The match featured two of the region's top teams in a hard-fought back-and-forth battle with quality chances on both sides. The game was deadlocked at 0-0 after the first 45 minutes with both teams putting three shots on-goal. Then, in the second half, Caitlin Mertens converted on a left-footed strike in the 55th minute to put the Hornets ahead, and Rachel Cooke lofted the keeper in the 73rd minute for a pivotal insurance tally. CNU would cut the lead in half in the final 10 minutes when Keiley McCarthy put away a penalty kick goal, but the Captains were unable to find the equalizer despite outshooting the Hornets, 16-11. 

Christopher Newport found the first quality chance of the match in the 14th minute of play when sophomore Carson Pokorny served a beautiful cross from the right and rookie Maxine Borris got a header on frame that just didn't have enough pace to get by the Lynchburg goalkeeper. The bulk of the first half was played in the midfield as the two talented defenses swallowed up chances moving forward both ways.

For CNU, senior Danielle Pratt led the way with rookie Alexi Manley and sophomores Shaye Doherty and McCarthy as the back line played exceptional defense in the first 45 minutes. Lynchburg's first chance came from 40 yards out on an easily saved shot from Brooke Kowalski. As the first half waned, Lynchburg nearly cashed in on a goal with under nine minutes left when Kennedy Jakubek smacked a shot toward the left side of the goal. Doherty was there to make the save on the back post and kept the Hornets off the board. 

Early in the second half, the Captains had two massive chances slip through their fingers. First, just over six minutes into the stanza, McCarthy played an excellent ball over the defense to rookie Victoria Reed making a run. In the box, Lynchburg defender Dana Seavey tracked back and cleared the ball away before Reed could get a shot off. Then, on the ensuing corner kick Logan Montel got a header on frame that the Hornets' keeper, Delia LoSapio, was able to snare. 

Perhaps the best chance of the game for CNU came just minutes later on a breakaway chance from Maxine Borris. On a counterattack, Montel slipped a pass by Borris' defender and the freshman beat LoSapio to the ball for a shot. Her long attempt was wide of the goal by less than a yard and just trickled into the side paneling on the right side. 

The match shifted just over a minutes later when Mertens connected on the first goal. She turned on her defender and blistered a hard left-footed shot into the left side of the goal, just beyond the outstretched arms of a diving Carly Maglio. The Hornets were sparked by the goal, and took six of the next seven shots in the game, including the second goal of the contest in the 73rd minute. After the defense tried to clear in the box, Cooke volleyed a high-arcing shot into the center of the goal from the middle of the field. 

It was just the third time all season the vaunted Captains defense had allowed more than one goal in a game, but the torrid CNU offense did not show any quit as they tried to claw back into the game. After falling behind, 2-0, the Captains tested LoSapio with four shots on-goal in the final 18 minutes. CNU would finally break through with 6:33 showing on the clock when McCarthy stepped in and delivered a hard shot into the twine on a penalty kick. 

The final real chance for CNU came with just over four minutes remaining when Alexi Manley played a gorgeous ball into the box over the defense, but the forwards were unable to get to it before LoSapio collected after coming off her line. 

LoSapio was forced to make eight saves as CNU was held to one goal for the first time in eight games and only the fourth time all season. McCarthy's goal was the 77th of the season, setting a new standard for a single season at CNU. Defensively, CNU also set a new program record with a 0.56 goals against average on 12 goals in 1913 minutes. 

CNU graduates just two senior starters from this year's squad and seven of the 11 starters are either freshmen or sophomores. One of those seniors is the program's all-time leading goalkeeper, Carly Maglio, who wrapped up her career as the all-time winningest keeper with 51 victories, also set program records for GAA (0.70), shutouts (26), and GK games started (61). 

"You look at a year like this and it's been spectacular. The records broken, the awards given and things like that," said Dan Weiler. "This senior class has been exceptional. All of them contributed to what we do -- some of them on the field, some of them off, some of them both. I could not be prouder of this group. They are a great representation of this program, great representation of this school and they live and breathe CNU and they do it right. They do it right on the field, they do it right in the classroom, and they do it right as people."

Lynchburg advances to face top-ranked TCNJ in the Round of 16 next weekend while improving to 20-3-0 on the season. 

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