SALISBURY, Md. – The No. 8 Salisbury University men's soccer team suffered a 1-0 defeat to York (Pa.) College in front of 512 fans in attendance at the SU Soccer Complex on Saturday.

With the victory, the Spartans (14-4-0, 7-0-0 Capital Athletic Conference) claim the CAC regular-season championship and will have home-field advantage in the upcoming CAC tournament (Oct. 31 - Nov. 6).

The Sea Gulls (12-2-3, 6-2-0 CAC) had a golden opportunity in the game's eighth minute, as junior forward Stafford Chipungu outmuscled a Spartan defender and created a breakaway. The Baltimore, Md., native chipped the ball over York goalkeeper Jesse Derksen and just over the crossbar. In the 12th minute, the Spartans created a chance off of a throw-in, as Mike Gill accepted a flicked ball and headed it on net, but SU sophomore goalkeeper John Vnenchak was there to nullify the chance. Chipungu led another Sea Gull effort in the 14th minute - he stormed away on another breakaway, but this time the ball was staved off by Derksen.

The game's only goal came in the 17th minute, as York's Antonio Bua served in a ball from the left side of the 18-yard box that deflected off a SU defender and into the net. In the 25th minute, Gill was served two yellow cards and forced the Spartans to play man-down for the rest of the match. Vnenchak kept the Sea Gulls in the contest in the 31st minute, as Mike O'Connell's header shot off of a free kick seemed destined for the top-left corner of the goal, but Vnenchak pushed the shot wide and out of play. At the half, the Sea Gulls held a 6-4 shots advantage and earned four corner kicks compared to just one for the Spartans.

The Sea Gulls had an opportunity to score in the 56th minute as a Sea Gull free kick trickled off of several players inside the 18-yard box before senior forward Mike Napolitano collected the ball and put a shot just wide of the Spartan net. The final chance of the afternoon for SU came in the 79th minute as Chipungu cut along the goal-line, extended and played a ball across the face of the goal. Derksen then made a sprawling one-handed grab to nullify the chance for the Sea Gulls. For the match, the Sea Gulls outshot the Spartans 16-5 and held a 6-1 corner kicks advantage.

It was a physical match throughout as there were a combined 44 fouls called in the contest, including eight yellow cards and three red cards.

Vnenchak went the distance for the Sea Gulls and finished with three saves, while Derksen staved off five shots for the Spartans.

The Sea Gulls will have to rebound quickly, as they are set to travel to No. 10 Christopher Newport University this Wednesday at 7 p.m. for the final non-conference game of the season for SU. Since 2000, the Sea Gulls are 8-1-1 against the Captains, including last year's 2-1 victory when CNU was ranked No. 1 in the nation.