Lionsbridge FC saw its 19-game unbeaten streak against USL League Two opponents end Saturday night with a 2-1 loss to Christos FC in Baltimore.
The Newport News-based Lions went ahead in the 26th minute when Logan Finnegan converted a pass from Christian Hatley. The hosts pulled even with a few seconds remaining before halftime, the first goal the Lions had yielded in 377 minutes.
Lionsbridge goalkeeper Nathan Jones saved a penalty kick in the 67th minute to preserve the tie, but Christos took the lead soon after and became the first Chesapeake Division opponent to defeat Lionsbridge since the division was created before the 2021 season. Christos capitalized when experienced Lionsbridge player Davide Matarazzi was ejected for a tackle in the 71st minute, his second yellow card of the match.
Dakota Jonke, making his debut with the Lions, took a late shot that hit a post. Lionsbridge leads the division at 5-1, while Christos (3-0-2) is its nearest competitor.
Lionsbridge will return home to TowneBank Stadium in Newport News to play the D.C. United U23 squad at 7 p.m. Saturday.
Va. Beach United defeats Patuxent
Also in USL League Two, Virginia Beach United rallied for a 2-1 victory over the Patuxent Football Athletics.
Nate Lam scored in the 90th minute to break a 1-1 tie.
Patuxent (0-5-1) went ahead in the 14th minute on a penalty kick, but Logan Beus equalized for VBU (3-2) in the 33rd.
VBCFC falls before big Annapolis crowd
Virginia Beach City FC lost 3-0 to the Annapolis Blues in a clash that drew 7,665 to Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium, the second-largest regular-season crowd in National Premier Soccer League history.
Despite key saves by VBCFC goalkeeper Jack DesRoches, Annapolis went ahead with three goals in about 16 minutes, starting in the 67th by Miles Lam. Eric Gwadz and Jackson Ruckman added the last two goals at the home stadium of Navy’s football team.
LOCAL BASEBALL
Pilots earn second consecutive victory
After five consecutive losses to open the Coastal Plain League season, the Peninsula Pilots have won two games in a row.
Saturday night, they erased a two-run deficit to beat Wilson 5-3 before 3,147 at War Memorial Stadium in Hampton.
The Pilots got effective pitching by starter Dalton Barham, a Norfolk State left-hander who gave up one run and four hits in four innings, and by Todd Mozoki, who shut out the Tobs (5-3) for four innings without yielding a hit or walk. He struck out five.
Mozoki’s James Madison teammate Mason Dunaway, a Hickory High graduate, was 2 for 4 and scored twice. Australian native Keenan Spence hit a home run, and VMI’s Justin Starke was 2 for 4 with a triple, a run and two RBIs.
For the Tobs, Patrick Fultz and Garrett Anglim each had two hits and drove in a run.
COLLEGE TRACK AND FIELD
UVA men place 11th at NCAA
Virginia’s men posted their third-highest NCAA Championships finish, taking 11th in Austin, Texas, as some Cavaliers earned All-American honors. Among them:
In the 3,000-meter steeplechase, Nate Mountain took fourth at 8 minutes, 35.99 seconds and Derek Johnson was eighth in 8:37.29.
In the triple jump, UVA’s Owayne Owens was eighth at 16.36 meters (53 feet, 8.25 inches). In the 800, Conor Murphy was fifth in a personal-best 1:46.43.
