FREDERICKSBURG, Va. -- After the nationally-ranked Christopher Newport men's soccer team won a defensive battle, 2-1, in the first matchup against the University of Mary Washington this season, the Eagles and Captains put on an offensive display in Saturday's rematch as the team's combined for five first-half goals. The host Eagles earned the win, 3-2, ending a lengthy shutout streak by the Captains' defense and halting a modest four-game unbeaten streak in the process. 

Christopher Newport falls to 10-3-1 overall this season while Mary Washington, ranked No. 24 in the D3soccer.com Top 25 this week, is now 9-3-2 overall. 

Despite the final score, the Captains held a decisive advantage in total shots with a 14-6 edge in total attempts and an 11-3 final tally in shots on-goal. One more shot on goal was wiped off the board when Christopher Newport thought they had tied the match late in the game on a goal by Jonathon Leiding, but the defender was whistled offsides after finding the back of the net for the equalizer, and Mary Washington held on for the 3-2 win. 

All five goals were scored in the first half, with the host Eagles scoring the first two and Christopher Newport rallying to tie the match at 2-2 all before 21 minutes had expired in the game. In the 26th minute, Josh Kirkland netted his second goal of the day for Mary Washington, with what would prove to be the game-winning goal. 

Faced with a 2-0 hole less than 12 minutes in, the Captains attack took control and scored twice in the next ten minutes. The first goal came from Mason Field on a nice finish in the center of the box -- Elton Quintanilla picked up the assist, passing in from the left side to find Field for the perfectly placed shot on frame.

The lead was cut in half in the 18th minute and less than three minutes later, the Captains equalized on the first goal of the season by Godfrey Abel. The Captains created the opportunity with numbers on a counter attack and Abel was released down the left side. A pass came in from a midfielder and Abel ripped a hard shot through the goalkeepers hands between his legs. The shot rolled over the goal line and tied the match at 2-2. 

Unfortunately, the home team responded with their third goal in the first 30 minutes to re-take the lead for good. 

With only seven minutes remaining, the Captains were sent into a frenzy as Leiding connected on the would-be game-tying goal after a free kick. Quintanilla took the set piece from about 22 yards out on the right side, and sent a low bouncer into the box. A CNU player flicked the ball past the goalkeeper toward the back post, where Leiding was waiting to finish with the goal. The junior defender slipped around the entirety of the Mary Washington defense, but was a step offsides when the ball was played, forcing the flag to go up, nullifying the score. 

In the last seven minutes, CNU continued to push and got another nice look from Quintanilla after a feed from Ryan Machado-Jones, but his blistering shot sailed just high and wide of the upper 90. 

Christopher Newport will close out the regular season next Saturday as they travel to Salisbury, Md. to face the Sea Gulls on Saturday, October 29. The match will be played on the site of the 2022 Coast-To-Coast Athletic Conference Championship Tournament, which will begin the following week.