Box Score Coaches will tell you there is no such thing as a moral victory, but Colorado College can feel pretty good about its effort on Wednesday night at No. 7 Salisbury University.
 
Senior attackman Charles Curtis struck for two goals and added a pair of assists, while freshman goaltender Chase Murphy recorded 12 saves to keep the Tigers within striking distance. The reigning Division III national champion Seagulls, however, broke the game open with four consecutive markers in the third period and went on to post a 9-4 victory.
 
Thanks to tallies by junior midfielder Jack Kreitler and freshman midfielder Eric Neumeyer, both off of feeds from Curtis, CC trailed just 4-2 at halftime. The deficit was still manageable after Salisbury's Eric Kluge notched his third goal of the contest 4:26 into the second half.
 
But with less than five minutes to play in the third quarter, the Seagulls extended their lead to 7-2 when Greg Korvin and Zeke Smith scored just 22 seconds apart, and Wade Korvin gave his team a six-goal advantage with 31 seconds to go in the frame.
 
Curtis scored his first goal with two seconds remaining in the third quarter to make the count 8-3, and after Luke Phipps added a man-up tally 1:20 into the fourth stanza, the Colorado College co-captain struck for a man-up goal of his own off a pass from senior attackman Steve Rijo to close out the scoring.
 
Once again, Murphy was stellar between the pipes, finishing with double-digit saves for the fourth time this season. Freshman defenseman Tim Jenkins paced the defensive effort with thee caused turnovers and four ground balls.
 
Salisbury got an impressive performance from Smith, who finished the game with two goals, five caused turnovers and six ground balls.
 
The Seagulls posted a 36-23 edge in ground balls and a 12-4 advantage in face-offs. They also launched 41 shots, compared to 17 for the Tigers.
 
Colorado College returns to action on Friday when it visits No. 3 Dickinson College for a 7 p.m. contest.