NEWPORT NEWS, Va. – The No. 4 Salisbury University field hockey team (3-0) pulled off a close victory against No. 12 Christopher Newport University (1-1) scoring in the 38th minute to earn the win, 1-0, and its first shutout of the season on Wednesday night.

In the first 30 seconds of the game senior Caitlin Walker put a shot on goal that got past the goalie but was saved by the Captains' Chelsea Hines preventing the Gulls from taking the early lead.

From that point through the remainder of the first half, the maroon and gold would hold a slight lead in both shots (5-4) and corners (4-3) over the Captains but neither team could find the back of the cage.

Early in the second half it again looked as though Salisbury would be able to break the 0-0 tie on the scoreboard, but junior Erica Henderson's shot was saved defensively by Allie Hackbarth. SU quickly earned a corner after the shot and made the most of it as freshman Summer Washburn dished the ball to Henderson who sent a chip shot into the top of the cage to seal the deal in the third minute of the second half.

The contest went back and forth for the rest of the half as Christopher Newport saw a similar fate with a defensive save. In the 50th minute Caitlin Cahill sent a shot past senior goalie Anna Cooke (four saves) but junior Amber Holland made the defensive save to preserve Salisbury's lead. Salisbury was able to hold on for the remainder of the half to claim the victory.

SU will host its first home game this week, Saturday, Sept. 10 at 6:30 p.m., against Randolph-Macon College in the second game of the 2011 Salisbury University Field Hockey Invitational played at Sea Gull Stadium.