NEWPORT NEWS, Va. -- Following two more victories last week, the Christopher Newport field hockey team moved to fourth in the latest NFHCA national poll as the squad prepares for its regular season finale against No. 10 Mary Washington on Wednesday at the Battleground Athletic Complex.
On a program-record 17-game winning streak, the Captains currently sit at 17-0 overall and 5-0 in conference action. The team's No. 4 ranking is tied for the highest in program history, matching the spot reached on October 16 and October 23, 2007. Their nine first-place votes also stand as a new program-high and are the second-most of any team in the nation.
Up on top of the poll for the third straight week, Montclair State earned 33 first-place votes and 1,004 points overall. Bowdoin and Tufts followed the Eagles, while CNU and Middlebury round out the top-five.
Riding the longest active winning streak in the nation, Christopher Newport also ranks among the finest in the country in nearly every conceivable statistic. The squad currently stands fourth in scoring margin, seventh in save percentage, and eighth in scoring average. The Captains' 0.76 goals-against-average also ranks fifth in the NCAA.
Scoring at a breakneck pace,
Belle Tunstall leads CNU with 16 goals and 11 assists. She has found the back of the cage in each of the past four games, including her first-career hat-trick on Saturday against York. Overall, she already ranks third on the program's single-season list in assists, goals, and points this year.
Christopher Newport has also received 13 goals apiece from
Lauren Cheatham and
Kelsey Clark, while
Shelby Judkins and
Marlene Lichty have each scored seven times. Along with Tunstall,
Allie Hackbarth has been one of the team's top facilitators, dishing out seven assists, including two on Saturday.
On the defensive end,
Bailey Lien ranks among the national leaders with an .850 save percentage and a 0.61 goals-against-average.
Jordan Snider and
Chelsea Hines also have five defensive saves apiece, and Judkins has chipped in with a pair. Overall, the back line has limited the opposition to just over seven shots per game, which is 20 fewer than the CNU attack has averaged.
Rolling to a 15-1 record this season, including a 4-1 mark in league action, Mary Washington is currently tied for second in the CAC standings. The Eagles' only loss came at the hands of Salisbury in a 4-0 setback on October 19. Since then, UMW has taken down its last two opponents by a combined 15-4 margin.
Especially dangerous on the offensive end, Mary Washington currently leads the nation with a 5.10 goals-per-game average. Jenna Steele has paced the team with 15 goals, while Caitlin Baker has 12 to go along with 11 assists. Emily Badis has guided the defense with an .826 save percentage while collecting five shutouts.
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