Box Score
NEWPORT NEWS, Va. – Piecing together a pair of historic efforts, Lindsay Hendricks and Belle Tunstall carved their names into the record books while leading the seventh-ranked Christopher Newport field hockey team to an 8-2 victory over Gwynedd-Mercy during the first round of the NCAA Tournament on a frozen Wednesday afternoon at Captains Turf Field.

During the contest, Hendricks scored five goals, marking the second-highest single-game total in program history. Tunstall was just as efficient on the offensive end, setting a new CNU record with five assists while chipping in with a goal of her own to round out a spectacular performance.

With the victory, the Captains will advance to the second round of the NCAA Tournament where the squad will battle No. 2 Montclair State on Saturday at Salisbury. The win also bumps CNU's record to 17-1, breaking the single-season program-record for victories. The squad's current 15-game winning streak also matches the longest roll in school history.

Playing the game in frigid temperatures, Christopher Newport warmed up quickly and set the tone early. Just 40 seconds into regulation, Hendricks burst into the Gwynedd-Mercy zone, made a beautiful push around the Griffin keeper, and unloaded a blast into the back of the cage for a fast 1-0 lead.

Fired up, CNU stormed right back and put the visitors on their heels again. Just moments later, Tunstall cruised into the circle, got Kelly Kruk to clear the cage, and dished to Hendricks, who had settled into an opening on the left side of the goal. With a quick flip, the senior sensation blistered another rocket into an opening for her second score in a 21-second span.

Staring at a two-goal deficit, Gwynedd-Mercy responded. After collecting themselves following the early CNU surge, the Griffins earned a pair of penalty corners at the 10-minute mark. Although the Captains clamped down on both attempts, including a gorgeous defensive save by Chelsea Hines, the visitors never relented. Eventually, Maria Karidas collected the ball and sent a cross to Caitlin Donahue, who found a window and snuck a shot past the CNU defense to pull the squad back within one at 2-1.

Refusing to let the early lead slip away, Christopher Newport went charging back into the Griffin zone. After Kruk batted away another shot by Hendricks, the Gwynedd-Mercy goalie faced back-to-back bullets by Marlene Lichty. Although she was able to kick aside both attempts, the second rebound squirted out to Marcy Hoath, who corralled the loose ball and uncorked a one-timer into the cage for her second goal of the season at 14:15.

Leading 3-1, the Captain defense stepped up against another Griffin run. The visitors attempted to whittle down their deficit with a pair of shots during a one-minute span, but Jamie Dowling refused to break and stoned both attempts to keep CNU's lead at two.

After surviving Gwynedd-Mercy's assault, Christopher Newport went back to work. Once again, Tunstall was at the heart of the attack as the sophomore speedster glided into the circle and fired a tracer from the top of the arc. With a quick move, Kelsey Clark got her stick on the ball and deflected it just enough to send it spinning past Kruk for the team's fourth goal of the first half.

Following halftime, the two squads traded runs in the early going, but the defenses were up to the challenge. Kruk notched a pair of quick saves for the Griffins, while Dowling broke up a Gwynedd-Mercy run with her third stop of the contest. Later, CNU coordinated a sustained surge that resulted in four on-target shots, but once again, Kruk swept aside three of the attempts before Brianne Kline made a stick save on the fourth.

After their initial efforts were turned away early in the second half, the Captains went back to Hendricks and Tunstall. During a seven-minute span, the two standouts pieced together one of the most spectacular runs in CNU history. Kicking things off at 57:53, Tunstall sent a pass through the Griffin zone. After settling into a perfect position, Hendricks drilled a dart past Kruk to complete her hat-trick.

Three minutes later, the teammates followed the exact same script as Tunstall fed another pass to Hendricks, who turned and unloaded her fourth goal of the contest. Two minutes after that, the pair combined for one last score. This time, Tunstall broke free and went sprinting towards the cage. With Hendricks mirroring her on the other side of the zone, she sent a laser through the circle. Reacting quickly, Hendricks made a diving stab and flipped another seed into the back of the cage for her grand finale.

Staring at a 7-1 deficit, Gwynedd-Mercy showed true resolve and continued to battle. The Griffin attack put CNU in a tight spot as the visitors peppered Christopher Newport. Dowling made a phenomenal play on the first shot before Breanne Lowe cleaned up another laser with her sixth defensive save of the season. Continuing to press, the unrelenting Griffin attack finally broke through after Donahue and Karidas teamed up for their second goal of the game at 65:02.

With their lead cut to five, the Captains had one final answer. After setting up five goals earlier in the game, Tunstall took care of business by herself. Running past the Gwynedd-Mercy defense, the second-year star found enough room to unload one last rocket from the right-side of the circle, which capped the scoring and gave CNU an 8-2 victory.

During the contest, Christopher Newport out-shot Gwynedd-Mercy, 26-10, but trailed in penalty corners, 9-6. Kruk finished the game with 11 saves for the Griffins, while Dowling came through with five for the hosts.

The victory is the fifth in postseason history for the Captains and their first since 2009. The eight goals are also the most ever by CNU in postseason play.

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