NEWPORT NEWS, Va. -- Adding a perfect ending to Senior Night, Lisa Murphy scored her first career goal on a bullet in overtime after Allie Hackbarth added the equalizer in regulation as the Christopher Newport field hockey team overcame an early deficit and stormed past Centre, 2-1, during a non-conference battle on a gorgeous Friday evening at Captains Turf Field.

On her senior night, Hackbarth posted her third goal of the season and helped set up Murphy's strike in overtime to cap off an outstanding effort. The defense also did its job as Savanah Cummings made seven stops in the cage and Sarah Miller chipped in with her fourth defensive save to stifle the Colonel attack.

With the victory, the Captains improved to 9-5 on the season, including 5-1 at home. The setback dropped Centre to 11-5.

After Christopher Newport fell behind by a goal entering halftime, CNU regrouped in the break and looked refreshed in the second period. From the start, the Captains came out firing. Drilling darts at a breakneck pace, the squad continued to poke at the Centre defense. Madison Doss led the onslaught with a few quick attempts. She also deflected a dart by Belle Tunstall off a corner that nearly found an opening before CC's Kirby Roberts made an out-stretched save.

Still on the attack, Tunstall ripped a shot that was kicked aside by Roberts before Hackbarth took control. Following another corner attempt, the senior lofted a floater from the top of the arc. Although the Colonels were able to stymie the shot, the visitors committed a miscue inside the circle, which gave the Captains a penalty stroke.

With a free look at the cage, Hackbarth sailed another high shot that breezed past the goalie and knotted the game at one with just over 21 minutes remaining in regulation.

After watching their slim lead evaporate, the Colonels attempted to respond and went back on the attack. Fortunately, Cummings stoned an on-target blast and Miller made a nice stop to close off the far post following a penalty corner. Mackenzie Neylon also came through with a tremendous stick check to steal the ball on a deep run on the far side of the field with 15 minutes left in the second period.

Following the Centre surge, the CNU offense took control and set the tone for the remainder of the stanza. In the 59th minute of action, Tunstall went streaking down the middle of the field and fed a pass to Kaila Bernard, who wiggled free on the near side. Unfortunately, the last CC defender came storming across the zone to poke the ball away before the freshman could muster an attempt.

Later, Miller sent a screamer just wide before Roberts made a nice stop on a bullet by Tunstall in the final two minutes of regulation. Still looking to break through before the bonus session, the Captains earned a pair of last-second penalty corners. Unfortunately, both of their attempts were blocked by the defense to send the game to overtime.

Playing 7-on-7 in the extra session, a track meet broke out as the teams traded runs. Centre got off to a fast start and pumped two early shots, including one that worked its way through the defense before Cummings made her seventh save. Shortly thereafter, Alexa Weaver took possession and made an unbelievable run for the Captains. The freshmen darted through the Centre defense and cut through a pair of defenders before the Colonels finally closed the door on her streak.

Still on the attack, Murphy drilled a shot that was stoned by Roberts but quickly made amends. In the 78th minute of action, Hackbarth gained control and stormed down the middle of the field. After a beautiful run, she dished off to Murphy, who had one defender to beat. Cutting back, the junior cleared some space and fired an absolute rocket across the zone into the corner of the cage to seal the win and send the Captain sideline into a full-out frenzy.

Overall, CNU held an 18-13 lead in shots and a 14-5 edge in corners. Both teams managed nine on-target attempts during the overtime thriller.

Although the game had a perfect ending, the beginning was a little iffy. Centre got off to a fast start as the visitors blasted four shots on-goal in the first three minutes. Luckily, Cummings was up to the challenge and built a wall in front of the cage to silence the early threat. Later, Murphy showed a sign of things to come with an impressive response.

During a remarkable minute-long stretch, she made two incredible plays. On the first run, she went sprinting down the far sideline, cut around a pair of defenders, and found some space. Unfortunately, her centering feed just missed a stick to end the rally. Later, she intercepted a clear attempt and whirled around a defender with another athletic move, but the defense closed in again to snuff out the play.

After surviving a few scares in the middle of the first, Centre went back on the attack. Although Cummings made a huge save with her blocker, the Colonels continued to surge. Finally, after a scrum inside the circle, Julie Gates worked her way free and found a shred of daylight to put the visitors on top, 1-0.

Staring at a deficit with 12 minutes left in the half, the Captains tried to mount a response. The squad earned a penalty corner and Hackbarth made a heads-up play that nearly caught Centre off-guard. After taking the feed from Samantha Snider near the top of the arc, she faked a pass to the center and spun around a defender. With a little freedom, she blistered a shot, but the roller squirted just wide. Later, CNU came up empty on one final corner attempt to end the half with a one-goal deficit.

Fortunately, the Captains never relented and showed tremendous poise to overtake the Colonels with a pair of late strikes, which sealed the 2-1 victory.

Christopher Newport will return to action on Tuesday when the squad hosts St. Mary's in a key Capital Athletic Conference bout at 4 p.m. at Captains Turf Field.

---CNU---