NEWPORT NEWS, Va. – The Marymount (Va.) University men's soccer team concluded the 2016 campaign on Wednesday night, falling on the road to Christopher Newport University, 2-1, in a Capital Athletic Conference tilt. 

In what played as a close match last season, nothing really changed this year other than the amount of goals scored. Last season, the Saints fell short late in regulation, 1-0, to the Captains. This year, the Saints jumped out to the lead in the first half when sophomore Marc Mendoza sent home a left-footed rip for the 1-0 advantage to take to the break. 

A free kick sent in by freshman Michael Ku-Dipietro was served into the 18-yard box where two Captain defenders failed to clear the ball on redirected headers. The ball would eventually drop to the feet of Mendoza who wasted no time to send it into the right side of the net. 

Five minutes into the second half, the match was drawn even when a corner kick by CNU was headed past the outstretched arms of freshman goalkeeper John Valcicak. By the 66th minute, the Captains put away the game winner on a counter attack, when Patrick Burns split a pair of Saint defenders for the low-right finish. 

Valcicak finished up the match with eight saves in his 90 minutes in the cage. The freshman keeper displayed a great first collegiate season, accounting for over 1500 minutes in net for the Saints, registering 71 saves and two shutout victories.