NEWPORT NEWS, Va. – Sailing to a 4-0 record through the first two weeks of the season, the ninth-ranked Christopher Newport field hockey team will look to continue its winnings ways this weekend when CNU welcomes Washington & Lee and Shenandoah to town for a pair of non-conference tilts at Captains Turf Field.

The Captains will open up the weekend with a 1 p.m. showdown against Washington & Lee on Saturday. Shenandoah will match wits with CNU on Sunday at 2 p.m.

As always, live stats will be available for all of the action at CNUsports.com. The Captains will also have live web streams of both games at CNUsports.com/Live. Direct links to all of the media can be found on the field hockey schedule page.

Riding a four-game winning streak, Christopher Newport will look to continue its run against a pair of familiar foes. The Captains have squared off with Washington & Lee nine times and boast an 8-1 record in the all-time series. The squad is also 6-0 against Shenandoah dating back to their first meeting in 2004.

The Captains have been paced by a potent offensive attack, which has averaged over four goals per game this season. Lauren Cheatham has scored a team-high five times, while Belle Tunstall leads the squad with 12 points and four assists. Both standouts have scored a pair of game-winning goals during the early going.

Taylor Young has also played well and earned CAC Offensive Player of the Week laurels for her performance during Christopher Newport's first two games. Overall, she is tied for second on the team with four goals and ranks third with nine points.

Helping out on the offensive end, Jordan Snider stands second on the squad with three assists, while Marlene Lichty has a pair of goals. Allie Hackbarth has also scored once and notched an assist to help balance out the offensive attack.

Equally successful on the defensive end, the Captains have allowed just three goals all season. Freshman Bailey Lien is the reigning CAC Defensive Player of the Week after becoming the first goalie in program history to shut out back-to-back top-20 squads. She has been aided on the defensive end by a host of standouts, including Chelsea Hines who ranks in the top-10 nationally with four defensive saves.

Coming into Saturday's match-up on a minor two-game skid, Washington & Lee currently sits at 1-3 on the season. After opening the year with a 4-0 setback against Johns Hopkins, the Generals rebounded with a 4-2 victory over Goucher before dropping a pair of decisions at Mary Washington and York (Pa.).

Lauren Boone scored Washington & Lee's game-winner against Goucher, while Noelani Schulmeyer has a team-high two goals for the Generals. Taylor Zusi also has a goal and an assist. On the defensive side, sophomore Megan Axelrod has started all four games in the cage. She currently has a .625 save percentage and a 4.70 goals-against-average.

Off to a 3-2 start this year, Shenandoah has split its last four games after upending Wilson, 7-0, in the season opener. The Hornets also posted shutout victories against Hood and McDaniel to go along with setbacks against Stevenson and Frostburg State. Thursday's game against the Bobcats went into double-overtime before FSU pulled out the 4-3 victory.

Collecting goals at a breakneck pace, Shenandoah is averaging four scores per game through its first five contests. Ashley Cross leads the way with four goals, while Lauren Mills has chipped in with three. On the defensive side, Sarah Clare has an .825 save percentage and is allowing 1.40 goals per contest.

Keeping their homestand going next week, the Captains will remain in Newport News for two more games after this weekend. CNU will square off with Virginia Wesleyan on Wednesday at 7 p.m. before facing Eastern Mennonite on Saturday at noon.

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