LEXINGTON, Va. -- In a hotly contested matchup on the road, the Christopher Newport men's soccer team suffered its second loss of the season, 1-0, at the hands of sixth-ranked Washington and Lee University (9-1-0). The Captains battled back-and-forth with the Generals for 90 minutes but a costly mistake in the first half leading to a penalty kick proved to be the difference as CNU falls to 7-2-1 on the season.
The Captains were making just their second road trip of the season on Wednesday when they made the trek to Lexington for the showdown against the top-ten opponent.
Matt Yates started in goal for the Captains for the tenth straight game and finished out the game holding W&L to just one goal for the first time in five games and nearly a month of the season. Yates allowed just the penalty kick goal in the 20th minute of play when Sami Seife stepped in and delivered the score and the CNU keeper made four saves on 17 shots faced.
The CNU defense held one of the most potent offensive units in the nation off the scoreboard in the run of play with
Carson Friedlein and
Jackson Carlyon playing full time on the back line. The veteran duo was paired with
Yazan Yaghmmour and
Declan Karney for the majority of the contest and limited the home team to just five shots on goal.
On the offensive end, the Captains ripped seven total shots in the game and put a pair of them on target. The first came just minutes after CNU fell behind, 1-0, as senior
Drew McWhinney delivered a dart on frame that was snared by the W&L goalkeeper. He added another that whistled just wide on the next run down the field by the CNU attack.
In the final 15 minutes, the Captains took control as they shifted things forward in an attempt to equalize.
Michael Hackworth smacked a shot just wide and Karney had another shot on goal for the Captains. McWhinney and
Riley Usher tacked on two more attempts for the CNU offense but the game-tying goal never came.
The matchup featured just one corner kick -- and that one chance came less than three minutes into the game -- as the defenses managed to limit set opportunities.
Christopher Newport will return to action this Saturday, October 10 as the Captains host Regent University on Senior Night. Kickoff is set for 6:00 p.m. at Captains Field when a dozen CNU seniors will be recognized for their contributions to the team over the last four years.
