NEWPORT NEWS, Va. - The Salisbury University men's soccer team's late comeback attempt fell short in a Coast-to-Coast Athletic Conference (C2C) battle with rival Christopher Newport, 3-2, on Wednesday night.

BOX SCORE

HOW IT HAPPENED

• In the 16th minute, CNU started the scoring. After a cross into the box, the ball bounced off a Salisbury defender into the net to give the Captains the early 1-0 lead.
• Though the Captains started with the lead, the Sea Gulls looked for an answer. That answer would come in the 35th minute. After a turnover by the CNU defense, Ben Pigg hustled past a CNU defender and placed the ball past the sliding CNU goalkeeper into the bottom left corner to tie the game at one.
• However, the tie would not last long. Just 30 seconds later, Owen Burnett headed in a cross from Jonathon Leiding to give the Captains the 2-1 lead. The Captains extended their lead in the 53rd minute. Chris Schram drove a free-kick just past a diving Ryan Socks into the left side of the net to put CNU up by two.
• The Sea Gulls, though, would not go down without a fight. In the 86th minute, Conner Appleby drew a foul in the box earning a penalty kick for the Sea Gulls. Appleby slotted the penalty kick into the net to reduce the Salisbury deficit by one but CNU withstood the late Salisbury come back to get the win.

SALISBURY GAME NOTES

• The Sea Gulls tallied 11 shots with three on goal.
• Ben Pigg and Conner Appleby scored the goals for the Sea Gulls.
• Pigg has scored three goals in the past four games.
• Ryan Socks earned the start and collected four saves.

CHRISTOPHER NEWPORT GAME NOTES

• The Captains notched 16 shots with seven being on net.
• Owen Burnett and Chris Schram scored the goals for the Captains.
• The Captains had three corner kicks.

UP NEXT

• Salisbury hosts Coast-to-Coast Athletic Conference (C2C) rival Mary Washington on Saturday, Oct. 30. This match will be the annual Senior Day game and the eight seniors will be on honored on the field starting around 1:45 p.m.
• Kickoff is set for 2 p.m.

Salisbury University is a proud member of NCAA Division III with primary membership in the Coast-to-Coast Athletic Conference, along with the New Jersey Athletic Conference for football and the Metropolitan Swimming and Diving Conference for men's and women's swimming. With over 500 student-athletes in 21 varsity sports, SU is recognized as one of the most competitive intercollegiate athletics programs regardless of division, and dedicated coaches and staff that foster excellence on-and-off the field. The Sea Gulls have celebrated 22 team national championships, 24 individual national champions, 184 conference championships and 41 Academic All-Americans.

To learn more about the tradition of excellence with Sea Gull Athletics, visit www.SUSeaGulls.com or on social media @SUSeaGulls.