SALISBURY, Md. -- With 17 seconds remaining in regulation, the University of Mary Washington scored a go-ahead goal during the Coast-To-Coast Athletic Conference Men's Soccer Championship that looked destined to be the gamewinner, but they left too much time on the clock for the 12th-ranked Christopher Newport Captains. In a wild finish, the Captains rallied, responded, and scored the game-tying goal with just one second left to force overtime. The two top seeds in the C2C Tournament then battled to a 1-1 draw and the match was decided in a penalty kick shootout, where the Eagles edged out the Captains in a 6-5 finish after eight rounds. 

It was the fifth time since joining the conference in 2013 that Christopher Newport has played into a penalty kick shootout including the third against Mary Washington. The Eagles captured the 2022 Coast-To-Coast Athletic Conference Championship with the 6-5 decision in OT as Christopher Newport's record falls to 12-3-2. The 18th-ranked University of Mary Washington is 9-4-3 and will play in the 2022 NCAA Tournament courtesy of the automatic bid from the C2C. 

Playing eachother for the third time this season, the two nationally-ranked programs played even throughout the run of play in both regulation and overtime. Both teams took 11 shots with Christopher Newport holding a slight 7-5 advantage in total shots on frame and both defenses stood strong against the dangerous opposing attack. 

After 89 minutes of scoreless soccer, the fireworks began. In the final minute of action, both teams were frantically trying to find a winner to avoid overtime and, with under 20 ticks of the clock remaining, Gadsoni Abel ripped a hard shot into the right side of the goal for Mary Washington. After a long throw, the ball bounced around the box for a few touches before Diego Guzman managed to settle a pass to the top of the box for Abel who took advantage of a crowded area with a shot. 

The go-ahead goal appeared to clinch the 2022 championship for Mary Washington but on the ensuing whistle, the Captains showed undeniable grit by getting to the ball quickly and forcing it forward. After the Eagles played the ball out of bounds, a long throw by the Captains with 10 seconds on the clock got it into the box. It bounded high into the air before Kyle Stenzel's header pass found Owen Burnett who lifted another header toward the goalmouth. With mere seconds ticking down it floated over the goalkeeper and into the left side of the netting as the horn sounded, sending the CNU bench into a frenzy. 

Burnett's second goal of the year powered CNU into the overtime period where the Captains controlled the majority of the action on attack. CNU got two shots on target in the extra time with one by Asher Kuzemka and another by Ryan Machado-Jones, but neither would get by Griffin Hemmendinger. 

In the PK shootout, the Captains fell behind 1-0 but fifth-year senior goalkeeper Ethan Larson made a diving save in the second round and Mason Field slipped in his shot to even things back up at 1-1. Both teams converted in rounds three through six including makes by CNU's Kyle Stenzel, Larson, and Chris Schram. Into the sudden victory portion of the shootout, the Captains got another goal from Trevor Smith and then a huge stop by Larson to put Christopher Newport in position for a win. Unfortunately for the Captains, Hemmendinger stepped up for Mary Washington and made back-to-back stops to clinch the win for the Eagles. 

For his performance in both C2C Tournament games, Ethan Larson was named to the All-Tournament Team. He was joined by senior midfielder Kyle Stenzel and rookie midfielder Asher Kuzemka. 

The Captains, who were ranked No. 1 in the most recent NCAA Regional Rankings, will now await the decision of the NCAA Division III Men's Soccer Championship Committee to see if their season will continue in next week's postseason tournament. The selection show will be presented on NCAA.com at 1:30 p.m. on Monday, November 7.