NEWPORT NEWS, Va. -- Playing through consistent rainfall throughout the contest, the 22nd-ranked Captains suffered just the second loss of the season as the University of Mary Washington snuck in a late goal against the tough CNU defense to win, 1-0. Facing tough conditions on the turf field, the Captains outshot the Eagles, 16-7, but the game of inches favored the visitors on a waterlogged night at Jennings Family Stadium.

The setback snapped a five-game unbeaten streak for the Captains who fall to 10-2-4 while Mary Washington improves to 9-6-3 on the season. 

Christopher Newport had the early control in the match including four early attempts against the Eagles defense. Yazan Yaghmmour had a free kick blocked by a defender and Joe Summerfield blasted a shot off an Eagles player as well. Then came two of the closest chances for the Captains in the game as defender Ben Sullivan blazed a groundball off the soaked turf that skipped on the Mary Washington goalkeeper but he was able to smother the shot. 

In the 13th minute, Barry Jones was able to serve a ball into the box that found the feet of Caleb Jones wide open on the left side. He blistered a line drive toward the goal, but this time the inches favored the visitors as his shot hammered off the right post and away from the goal. 

The CNU defense did a tremendous job of swallowing up any chances that Mary Washington attempted to build in the middle of the field and only surrendered two shots in the first half. The only shot on goal came in the 35th minute and senior goalkeeper Hayden Dewey slid to his left to eliminate the chance. Yaghmmour and Sullivan were joined on the back line by Declan Karney and Carson Friedlein and all four played the full 90 minutes in front of Dewey while allowing just seven total shots in the game. 

The entirety of the starting 11 showcased its endurance in the matchup as Christopher Newport limited its substitutions against the Eagles. Forwards Drew McWhinney (76 minutes) and Joe Summerfield (84 minutes) each played a season-high for the Captains and the midfield unit was led by Asher Kuzemka (84 minutes) and Colin Skwirut (71 minutes). 

After halftime, CNU ratcheted up the offensive intensity even more and held the ball in the attacking third of the field for the majority of the first 30 minutes of the second half. Kuzemka had back-to-back whistling shots denied -- the first by a defender intercepting the shot and the second, in the 56th minute, saved by Kickbush. After a restart, Skwirut played the ball up the middle of the pitch and Summerfield chested the ball down to McWhinney, who shuffled over to Kuzemka for an open look from 20 yards; after settling the pass, he snapped off a laser toward the top of the goal, but the Eagles keeper made the save. 

Moments later, McWhinney fired a shot just wide, again, missing by mere inches. In the70th minute, the junior forward nearly finished a highlight-reel goal after a long throw in by Friedlein from the left side. With just over 20 minutes remaining, McWhinney received the chest high pass from the sideline and, with his back to the goal, whipped a shot over his shoulder and just high of the upper 90. 

Despite the numerous chances in favor of the Captains, the decisive goal would come on a set piece in the 81st minute when Mary Washington scored on a corner kick. Nathan Macek served the ball in from the right side and Gerrard Valoyi leaped in front of Dewey to finish a header into the short side of the goal. 

As the rain continued, so did the clock as the Captains just could not find the equalizer in the final ten minutes. Tim McGuire and Nick Dunkley worked for chances through contact at the top while Yaghmmour and Barry Jones each added shots blocked by the Mary Washington defense. 

Christopher Newport will return home next weekend as they host the Coast-To-Coast Athletic Conference Championship Tournament. Before then, CNU will close the regular season at Salisbury this weekend on Saturday, November 1 at 3:30 p.m.