NEWPORT NEWS, Va. – The No. 25-ranked Salisbury University men's soccer team dropped a 3-2 decision at the hands No. 4 Christopher Newport University in front of 827 in attendance on Wednesday.

The Captains (16-1-1) got on the board in the game's 25th minute, as Winston Mattheisen cut along the goal line before playing the ball across the mouth of the goal, which Danny Franklin knocked into the Sea Gull (12-3-3) net for the 1-0 advantage. That would be the only score of the first stanza, despite SU firing off five shots in the first frame.

The Sea Gulls knotted things up in the 49th minute, as junior midfielder Morgan Hunt served in a ball from the left side of the field, which senior midfielder Dave Corrigan headed into the left side of the net past diving CNU goalkeeper Justin Wolfe. The Captains countered with another goal in the 57th minute off of a set piece, as Mattheisen bent the ball over the Sea Gull wall and into the net for the 2-1 lead. The SU offense pressed over the final portion of the contest to find the net for the second time and freshman midfielder Jake Perry delivered with an unassisted tally in the 82nd minute. Perry outworked a CNU defender to the ball, before sending a booming shot past Wolfe and into the left side of the CNU net to even the contest at 2-2.

CNU scored the game-winner in the 86th minute off of a corner kick, as Kyle Rose headed the ball over SU sophomore goalkeeper John Vnenchak. The game appeared headed for overtime in the dying seconds of the contest, as senior defender Casey Rector fired off a shot from the right side of the field which caromed off the left post before being cleared away by the CNU defense.

It was a balanced effort between the two squads, as each team finished with 15 shots, three corner kicks and was called for 13 fouls. Vnenchak set a new career-high with six saves in the contest, topping his previous career-high of three set in the 1-0 win at Johns Hopkins on Sept. 28. Wolfe played the full 90 minutes for CNU and finished with seven saves.

The Sea Gulls will have a first-round bye as well as a home game in the semifinal round of the upcoming Capital Athletic Conference tournament (Nov. 3 – 6). The time and opponent for the semifinal match are to be determined after first-round action this weekend. Visit www.suseagulls.com for updated information on Salisbury's trek through the postseason.