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NEWPORT NEWS, Va. –  Guided by an outstanding offensive attack, led by Carly Utterback and Joy Piirto, the Christopher Newport women's soccer team stormed past Greensboro, 4-0, during the USA South Quarterfinals on Saturday evening.

Piirto scored a pair of goals during the game, while Utterback added one to go along with two assists. The stingy CNU defense also was strong all day, limiting Greensboro's opportunities while posting the team's fourth shutout in a row.

With the victory, the third-seeded Captains (11-8-0) advance to the conference semifinals next weekend in Martinsville, Virginia. The setback eliminated Greensboro (7-11-0), who entered the playoffs as the league's sixth seed.

During the first half, CNU went right after Greensboro, testing the Pride with five early shots. Although the visitors withstood the surge momentarily, the Captains eventually broke through at 25:15. Utterback ripped a cross through the Pride zone, which Piirto planted into the back of the goal for a 1-0 lead.

Looking to add some breathing room, Christopher Newport put the pressure on again. Although Greensboro's Shireen Unvala batted away three CNU shots during a 14-minute run late in the first half, the Captains were undeterred. Finally, with just under a minute left until halftime, Chelsea Wolfe sent a perfect cross to Utterback, who beat the keeper and fired a dart into the bottom left corner of the goal.

Leading by two at halftime, the Captains continued to control the tempo beautifully in the second half. Testing Greensboro throughout the start of the period, the hosts struck again at 67:45. Helping out on the team's third straight goal, Utterback dished a pass through the GC zone. After taking control, Emma O'Reilly drilled a blast into the upper right corner of the goal to give CNU a comfortable 3-0 edge.

Less than four minutes later, Christopher Newport struck one last time. Capping off the scoring blitz, Piirto found a little room and ripped a rocket straight up the center which kissed off the crossbar and found its way to the back of the goal at 71:28.

Holding a 4-0 advantage, the Captains eased into the victory. Although Greensboro tested the CNU defense in the waning moments of the game, Meghan Gumbs was up to the task, stoning the Pride's last attempt to break up the shutout.

During the contest, the CNU attack outshot Greensboro by a commanding 21-4 margin and held a 6-1 edge in corner kicks. Unvala had seven saves for the Pride, while Gumbs chipped in with two for the Captains.

---CNU---