NEWPORT, R.I. --

A game which was anticipated to be an evenly matched, defensive, chippy affair lived up to that bill. In their five meetings prior to tonight, the teams were as evenly matched as possible with one win a piece and three ties, including a tie in their matchup earlier this year. This evening was a battle of two teams looking for their first NEWMAC Championship births in program history. Unfortunately for the Bears the would come up just short losing 2-1 to the Seahawks of Salve Regina. 

Early in the first half, both squads played suffocating defense, with neither able to produce strong offensive opportunities. The Bears first legitimate scoring opportunity came in the 13th minute when an Andres Villasana(Ponte Vedra Beach, FL) free kick shot sailed just high over the goal. 

10 minutes later, the Bears again had a scoring chance when freshman midfielder Nicholas Yorgason(Pleasant View, UT) sent a perfect centering pass to the head of senior tri-captain Michael O'Brien(Mays Landing, NJ) but the header flew just to the left of the goal. Shortly thereafter, junior sensation Aki Freeman(San Diego, CA) who scored twice in the quarterfinal, got his first goal scoring opportunity of the evening. Freeman sent a laser towards the goal but Salve keeper Adonis Santiago(Oakdale, CT) dove to his left and was able to deflect the ball past the goal.

The teams would exchange defensive punches to close out the first half but the Bears would suffer a major blow going into halftime. With under one minute remaining, senior tri-captain and anchor of the back line Jude Sargent(West Hartford, CT) would go down with injury and have to leave the contest.

After a first half in which both teams played at a deliberate pace, the second half started high octane The quicker pace of play also led to more physicality from both CGA and Salve with the teams fighting for their NEWMAC playoff lives. 10 minutes into the 2nd half, the Salve Regina Seahawks were able to deal the first blow. Sophomore striker and team leader in goals Daniel Goba(North Kingstown, RI) found the back of the net for his team leading 13th goal of the year.

Playing from the behind for their 2nd consecutive playoff game, Coast Guard did not panic. In the 68th and 70th minutes, the Bears gave their all at answering back with three near scores. Brendan Engstrom(Brea, CA) nearly found the net on a shot that sailed just wide. Two minutes later, last game's hero Cole Miller(Annapolis, MD) had a shot barely blocked out of bounds on the way to the goal and on the subsequent corner, Michael O'Brien sent a shot just wide on an impressive bicycle kick attempt. 

O'Brien made certain he would make the most of his next opportunity. With one senior captain down with injury, another stepped up and in the 74th minute, "OB" just barely got a head on a ball which Jake Fish(Little Silver, NJ) sent into the box to tie the score 1-1. Less than a minute later, O'Brien very nearly found the net again but a stellar defensive effort for Salve blocked the ball out of play. 

With just 7:28 remaining on the clock, a foul in the box gave Salve Regina a penalty kick opportunity. Daniel Goba, who scored their first goal, converted on the PK for his 2nd score of the afternoon to give the Seahawks the one goal advantage. 

With opportunities few and far between as the clock ran down, Coast Guard was unable to even the score and force overtime.

The Salve Regina Seahawks will face number 1 seed Babson for the NEWMAC championship on Saturday.