MECHANICSBURG, Pa. -- Opening the season with a tough test against perennial power Messiah, the 16th-ranked Christopher Newport field hockey team dropped a 5-1 decision to the fourth-ranked Falcons on Friday evening at Anderson Field.
                                              
Mauri Ware scored in her debut with the Captains after finding the back of the cage following a penalty corner attempt in the second quarter. Meanwhile, Courtney Fiest and Abby Asuncion kept the Messiah defense on its heels throughout the contest as the two standouts combined for 10 shots, including seven on cage.
 
On the defensive end, Olivia Davis made a pair of saves for Christopher Newport, while Rachel Cooke helped thwart a pair of penalty corner attempts by the Falcons.
 
With the win, Messiah improves to 1-0 on the season, while the setback drops the Captains to 0-1.
 
Jumping on the board quickly, the Falcons scored nine seconds into regulation before Christopher Newport settled in. Just seconds later, after the restart, Asuncion flashed her power and bombed a shot towards the cage that caught the goalie's pad. Later, Fiest fed a lengthy roller up the field before Nyla Lewis battled through a pair of defenders. The sophomore eventually centered a feed into the circle, but the Messiah back line broke it up.
 
After the Captains tested the MC defense, the Falcons tried to crack Christopher Newport. Standing up to the relentless pressure, Ware picked the pocket of a pair of attackers on the far sideline to help cut off the host's longest sustained rally of the first quarter. Moments later, Fiest ripped the ball away from a midfielder before Messiah earned a corner. Unfazed, Cooke pressured the shooter and eliminated the straight-ahead attempt before Davis got her pads on the ball to finish off the corner.
 
Still keeping the Falcons in-check, Marcella Sabbagh walled off the back line on another run by the hosts before Bailey Miller hustled to collect a loose roller near midfield and perfectly defended a last-ditch aerial to close out the first period.
 
In the second stanza, the Captains continued to hold off the Messiah attack before the Falcons converted a penalty stroke in the 21st minute to extend their lead to 2-0.
 
Needing a response, the visitors dug in again. Miller was at the center of another defensive stand as the senior knocked down another floater before dropping low and snatching a worm-burner up the sideline. Fiest also put together a one-person highlight reel as the junior stole the ball between three midfielders, dribbled to the circle, and split two more Falcons before unloading a screamer towards the cage that was deflected at the last second by the Messiah goalie.
 
With time running down in the first half, Sarah Mueller snagged a loose ball and pounded it up the field in the 28th minute. Keeping the heat on the hosts, Cooke retained possession near midfield before slipping a pass up to Ware, who put pressure on two defenders near the arc to earn a corner with less than 90 seconds remaining in the quarter.
 
Looking to capitalize, Ware inserted the ball to Fiest, who uncorked another rocket towards the cage. Although the goalie was able to get her pad on the shot again, the ball bounced out to Ware, who found herself on the far side. Collecting the ricochet, the sophomore deposited her first collegiate goal after knocking the ball out of the air and into the back of the cage.
 
With their lead down to one entering halftime, the Falcons regrouped after the break. Although Cooke was able to disrupt Messiah's initial corner attempt in the third quarter with a pair of deflections, the squad came back and quickly converted its next opportunity. Five minutes later, the team struck again after a mad scramble in front of the cage to stretch the lead to 4-1.
 
Refusing to back down, Kennedy Johnson had a nice run late in the third quarter. First, she won a duel with a Falcon near the sideline and ran a little give-and-go with Ware to jumpstart an offensive rally. Later, on the other side, Messiah had a decent look on a turnaround attempt, but Johnson was there to deflect the shot.
 
With a fresh 15 minutes on the clock in the fourth quarter, Emma Logue punched a roller towards the circle and got her stick on a clear attempt. Moments later, after Davis made another save, Mueller broke up an attempt and helped generate a breakaway by Asuncion. With a clear run, the freshman got the Messiah goalie to hit the turf, but a second Falcon managed to get back between the pipes to make a great defensive save.
 
Unfortunately, after staving off that threat, Messiah responded with a clean run of its own to snatch a 5-1 lead in the 49th minute.
 
Although the Captains earned four corners over the final 11 minutes of action, the Falcons turned away on-target attempts by Fiest and Cooke to help close out the four-goal victory.
 
Overall, Christopher Newport held a 12-11 lead in shots and a 7-3 advantage in corners, but Messiah was able to overcome those statistical disadvantages. Megan Bomba finished with seven saves to earn the win, while Taylor Wiederrecht added a hat-trick for the Messiah attack.
 
The Captains will return to action on Sunday at 11 a.m. when the squad battles No. 9 Rochester in a neutral-site tilt at Spooky Nook in Manheim, Pennsylvania.
 
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