SALISBURY, Md. -- In a microcosm of the season as a whole, the Christopher Newport men's soccer team suffered a penalty kick shootout loss in the first round of the Capital Athletic Conference Tournament on Saturday, after a 1-1 draw at No. 3 Salisbury.

In all but two of their eight losses this season, the Captains outshot their opponents, and often by a wide margin. In the first matchup against Salisbury this season, CNU suffered a 1-0 setback despite outshooting the Sea Gulls, 13-6. In Saturday's first round battle, the Captains (7-8-1) outshot the Sea Gulls by a final count of 21-6, and the defense held strong through the 110-minute contest, but were unable to convert on the offensive end as the home team forced the PK shootout. 

Salisbury's record ran to 11-3-3 with the draw, and will advance to play St. Mary's (Md.) in the CAC semifinals. The Seahawks also squeaked into the next round with a 4-3 win in penalty kicks over Penn State Harrisburg. 

In Saturday's contest for the Captains, CNU got on the board first with a goal in the 30th minute of action. One of the Salisbury defenders attempted to play a slow roller back to the goalkeeper, but Christopher Newport rookie Will Collins raced for the ball and got a touch before Trevor Brookhart, the SU keeper, could reach it. With the ball by the keeper, Collins slipped a low shot into the empty net to put the Captains ahead. 

The defense held Salisbury without a shot for nearly the entire first half. With under 30 seconds remaining in the stanza, the Sea Gulls finally fired their first shot of the game. Ryan Spadin's attempt was blocked by a defender, but the shot ricocheted right to his teammate, Josh Woozley, for a second shot. Woozley notched his first goal of the season with the rebound for the equalizer. 

In the second half, CNU fired 11 shots with three on-net, but the score remained 1-1 at the end of regulation. In overtime, the Captains took four more shots, putting three on goal, while the defense held Salisbury to just two. The Sea Gulls only managed one attempt on-frame in the game against the tough CNU back line of Andrew Maeso, Khari Jones, Davis Pillow, and Derek Cook. 

In the penalty kick shootout, the Captains fell, 3-1, with Collins putting away the only shot for CNU. The Captains senior goalkeeper, Zach Pedini, made a tremendous diving save, on Salisbury's third attempt, but the home team secured the win with a clinching save by Brookhart. 

The Captains finished the season with a 7-8-1 record. The defense held opponents to just one goal per game and posted the ninth-best goals-against average in program history, holding opponents to a 0.97 mark.