WASHINGTON, D.C. – Catholic field hockey dropped a challenging contest to No. 2 Salisbury, 1-6, at Cardinal Stadium on Wednesday evening. The Cardinals scored the last goal of the game, but it was took little too late as the Sea Gulls notched a five goal victory to remain one of the country's top-scoring teams.

Niki Micciche continued her scoring prowess with a late goal, the lone score of the night for the Cardinals. She now leads the team with four on the year and is well on pace to surpass the 75 point mark with 73.

The Cardinals held off the Sea Gulls for 10 minutes to start the contest. Freshman Ella Bowman made two saves in goal and the Catholic defense disrupted three penalty conners before Salisbury broke onto the scoreboard. 

Arden Hunteman was the key to Salisbury's offense. The sophomore scored five of the Sea Gull's six goals, three of which came in the opening 20 minutes. Hunteman now leads her team with 11 goals and 23 points on the season. 

Hunteman was helped by teammate Alayna Gigliotti for her first goal and created for herself on the next one to give the Sea Gulls a 2-0 lead after the first quater. Salisbury found the back of the cage three more times in the second quarter to take a five goal advantage into the halftime break. Hunteman added two in this frame and Regan Nacrelli got in on the action off another Gigliotti assist.

After the break, the Cardinals started the build momentum. They elevated their offensive intensity, recording their first shots on goal with back-to-back chances from Allison Flynn and MaryKate Ardizzi at the nine minute mark. They added four more shots and were awarded their first penalty corner in the fourth quarter. Catholic also buckled down on defense, only allowing one goal in the second half.

Catholic's best opportunity came with five minutes remaining when Oli Bond fired the ball from the top of the arc toward the cage. A group of players fought for possession in front, but it was Micciche who came out victorious with a slap slot passed opposing goalkeeper Merfie Lawson. 

The Cardinals are only the fourth team all season who has scored against the Sea Gulls and only the second non-ranked team to do so. In total, they got off six shots, five of which were on target, and were awarded three penalty corners. Bowman made five saves in her second collegiate start, bringing her career total to eight. 

The Cardinals will return to Landmark Conference play on Saturday, September 28 when they host Moravian in Washington, D.C. at 1 p.m.