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VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. -- Despite a quick goal by Lauren Cheatham, which gave the fourth-ranked Christopher Newport field hockey team an early lead, fifth-ranked Bowdoin answered almost immediately and never backed down as the Polar Bears pulled out a 4-1 victory during the NCAA Final Four at the National Field Hockey Training Center on a warm Friday morning.

The game started well for the Captains after Cheatham punched home a dart in the fifth minute of action, but Bowdoin's Katie Riley and Rachel Kennedy each answered with a pair of goals to lift the Polar Bears into the National Championship.

With the setback, Christopher Newport ends its record-setting 2013 campaign with a 21-2 mark after advancing to the Final Four for the first time in program history. Bowdoin improves to 17-3 and will face either Salisbury or Skidmore in the national title tilt on Sunday morning.

At the start of the game, the two teams traded blows within the first six minutes of action. Christopher Newport pieced together the first run as Allie Hackbarth corralled the ball and tore up the middle of the field with Belle Tunstall flanked out wide. Although her pass was broken up, the junior midfielder regained control and whipped a shot that spun just wide.

Just over a minute later, Marlene Lichty returned to the zone and clocked a shot off the side of the cage and attempted another blast that was broken up following a penalty corner. Refusing to stop, the assault continued. Eventually, Cheatham took possession near the center of the circle and unloaded a rocket that spiraled into the back of the cage at 4:19 to give the Captains a fast one-goal edge.

Unfortunately, Bowdoin retaliated exactly one minute later. On their ensuing run, the Polar Bears clocked an initial shot that was kicked away by Bailey Lien. Still in control, Riley snuck the follow-up shot past the CNU defense to knot the game in the sixth minute of action.

Looking to break the deadlock, Bowdoin continued to force the ball into the Captain zone and orchestrated a pair of runs. Capping of both streaks with a penalty corner, the Polar Bears found a tough time breaking through as Shelby Judkins built a wall at the top of the circle. The senior defender broke up both corner attempts and set up another solid run by Hackbarth that was stymied by Bowdoin.

With just over 11 minutes remaining in the half, Judkins and Hackbarth teamed up once again on another streak. After Judkins cleared the ball to her teammate, Hackbarth went sprinting up the center of the field with numbers on her side. With a quick move, she cleared a defender near the top of the circle and fired a dart on cage, but Hannah Gartner came through with a nice save to keep the game knotted at one.

After surviving Christopher Newport's attack, Bowdoin answered with an extended assault during the final seven minutes of the half. Following a penalty corner, the Polar Bears clocked a shot, but Lien and Jordan Snider cleaned up along the back line before Moira Wright grabbed the ball on the near side and possessed it to give the defense a little break.

Unfortunately, Bowdoin remained undeterred and battled back. After Lien stopped another shot with a phenomenal kick save, Riley grabbed the rebound, curled to the left side of the cage, and punched home her second goal of the game in the 31st minute to give the Polar Bears a one-goal edge entering halftime.

Following the break, the two teams battled near midfield for the first five minutes before Christopher Newport's attack found its legs. In the span of a minute, the Captains earned two penalty corners. On the first attempt, Kelsey Clark pumped a blast from the far side and Tunstall did her best to bang home the rebound, but the Polar Bears kept the ball just outside of the cage.

With momentum on its side after an outstanding defensive stand, the Bowdoin attack mounted another run. In the 47th minute, the Polar Bears picked up a corner. Although the Captains held up against the initial wave, Kennedy continued to push and dropped in the rebound for Bowdoin's third goal of the game with 23 minutes remaining in regulation.

Holding a two-goal advantage, the Polar Bears continued to poke at the Christopher Newport defense looking for some more breathing room. During a 10-minute run, BC kept attacking the CNU zone and snapped off a pair of shots. Fortunately, the first was blocked by Chelsea Hines, and later, Snider cleaned up in front of the cage with a gorgeous defensive save to keep the game within reach.

With time becoming an issue, the Captains called for a timeout with just under 12 minutes remaining in regulation. Looking for one last run, Christopher Newport picked up its finest scoring opportunity of the second half with five minutes left on the clock, but Lichty's bullet just missed the mark and clanged off the post to keep the deficit at two.

As the clock ticked into the final two minutes, Bowdoin added the final punctuation mark as Kennedy tacked on her second goal off of a rebound at 68:09 to seal the three-goal victory.

Overall, Bowdoin held a 14-6 edge in shots and an 8-4 lead in penalty corners. Lien finished with six saves for the Captains, while Gartner had a pair for Bowdoin. Snider also came through with two crucial defensive saves for the Captains, bumping her single-season total to eight, which matches the all-time program record.
 
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