YORK, Pa. -- Engaging in another back-and-forth battle with No. 5 York (Pa.), the Christopher Newport women's lacrosse team fought hard against the nationally-ranked Spartans but could not quite pull out the victory as the Captains dropped a 10-8 decision in the Capital Athletic Conference semifinals on Saturday afternoon at Kinsley Field.
 
Catie Chess scored a game-high four goals against the Spartans, while Sarah Culver chipped in with four points as well. Meaghan Galvin also scored twice for the Captains, and Kaitlyn Ready came through with seven saves, but York (Pa.) had enough left to survive a late scare and pull out the victory.
 
With the setback, Christopher Newport falls to 11-8 on the season. Meanwhile, York (Pa.) improves to 14-2 and advances to the CAC championship game, which will take place next Saturday. The Spartans also extended their home winning streak to 11 straight games, matching the sixth-longest active roll in the nation.
 
From the outset, the Captains looked evenly matched against the top-seeded hosts. Ready came out on fire, making three saves in the first six minutes of action to stifle York's first wave. Later, on the other side, Galvin opened the scoring in the seventh minute. After grabbing possession behind the crease, she burst around the left pipe, faked high, and laced a low liner into the back of the net for a fast 1-0 lead.
 
Responding immediately, YCP evened the score less than a minute later before the Captains dug in on the defensive side once again. Tess D'Arcy prevented a rollback attempt on the far side of the field before Ready slammed the door on a Spartan spinner. Minutes later, Mariah Ginebra grabbed a loose ball following a blocked shot, and Ready walled off the right pipe to stymie another surge following a York timeout.
 
Unfortunately, after the lengthy stand, the hosts managed to slip in their second goal to grab a momentary lead with 12 minutes left in the opening period.
 
Firing right back, Chess got her day started after bursting around a defender at the top of the zone before ripping a rocket on the run to knot the score at two. Continuing the seesaw affair, York answered again before Julia Golden pieced together a nice run. First, she made a tremendous play off the ensuing draw to snag a high hopper and regain possession. Minutes later, after the Spartans got the ball back, she broke up a pass along the interior before Mackenzie Regen grabbed the roller with six minutes left in the half.
 
Looking for the equalizer, Culver earned a free-position attempt and quickly capitalized after lacing a missile to knot the game at three.
 
Unfazed by Christopher Newport's late push, York retaliated in the final five minutes of the period with back-to-back goals to steal a 5-3 advantage entering halftime. Later, following the break, the Spartans added another quick strike early in the second half to stretch their lead to three before the Captains found their groove.
 
Shortly after York's sixth goal, Culver chipped away at the deficit all by herself. Facing a wall of defenders, she bulled right through three Spartans, elevated, and slammed one overtop of the defense to cut the lead down to 6-4. Continuing the rally, Katie Orrison battled through a scrum off the ensuing draw and took a few hits but never lost control of the ball to give the attack another shot.
 
With an opportunity to pull within one, Culver burst towards the crease again, but this time, she pulled up with a defender in her face and dished a quick feed to Chess, who stung a shot from deep inside the zone to slice YCP's advantage down to 6-5.
 
Looking to steal back some momentum, York capitalized on two yellow cards and eventually tacked on three straight goals to secure a 9-5 lead with 20 minutes remaining in regulation.
 
Needing a quick rally, Culver and Chess teamed up once again. This time, Culver rolled around the top of the zone before Chess ran the opposite way underneath. With the defense splitting apart, Culver slipped a feed to Chess, who grabbed the ball and pounded home her third goal of the contest. Two minutes later, after Culver loosened up the zone once again with a physical run through a host of Spartans, Carly Wilson took possession behind the crease and connected with Galvin, who cut towards the cage and dropped in her 46th goal of the year to inch back within two at 9-7.
 
Following a York timeout, the Spartans came out of the stoppage and capitalized with their 10th goal before Christopher Newport settled in for one final push. First, on the defensive end, Chess was able to break up a free-position attempt, Jordan Hayes rode an attacker all around the arc, and Ready eventually put the punctuation mark on the stand with another save to give the offense an opportunity to respond.
 
With 10 minutes remaining, Galvin grabbed a loose ball that was scooting towards the sideline before feeding it back across the field to Chess. Finding herself isolated one-on-one with a defender, the junior standout liked those numbers and immediately took advantage. Breaking down the Spartan, she rolled right around her defender and snapped off her fourth goal to cut CNU's deficit down to two.
 
After York managed to get the ball back following Christopher Newport's eighth goal, the defense did a tremendous job to regain possession. With just over six minutes remaining, Regen eliminated an angle on a free-position attempt before Ready swallowed the off-balance shot. Unfortunately, the Spartans swarmed the CNU clear attempt and prevented the ball from leaving the zone before settling in to run some time off the clock.
 
Following a timeout by the hosts, YCP methodically moved the ball around the field to chip away at the final few minutes. Eventually, after the Spartans managed to run nearly five minutes off the board, Lindsay Weaver bolted into a passing lane and picked off a floater before CNU whistled for a timeout with 77 seconds left in the game.
 
With one final opportunity, the Captains managed to clear the ball, but York clamped down on the squad's last-ditch effort and regained control before closing out the 10-8 victory.
 
Overall, York held a 21-18 advantage in shots and an 11-4 lead in ground balls. Meanwhile, Christopher Newport dominated on the draw, controlling 14 of the game's 20 battles, including four apiece by Orrison and Chess. Ginebra also added two ground balls and a caused turnover to help lead the defensive effort.
 
---CNU---