NEWPORT NEWS, Va. -- Belle Tunstall capped off an incredible come-from-behind victory with a goal in double-overtime to lift the Christopher Newport field hockey team past St. Mary's, 4-3, during an epic thriller in a crucial Capital Athletic Conference showdown on a sun-splashed Tuesday evening at Captains Turf Field.

After CNU found itself staring at a two-goal deficit early in the contest, the hosts pieced together a gripping comeback. Freshman Carol Thompson led the resurgence with a goal and an assist, while Alexa Weaver and Taylor Williams also found the back of the cage to help force overtime. Finally, in the second bonus session, Tunstall wrapped up the game with a dart off a rebound to seal the win.

With the victory, Christopher Newport improves to 10-5 on the season and 2-2 in CAC action. The setback drops St. Mary's to 10-5 overall and 3-2 in league play.

After Williams forced overtime with her sixth goal of the season late in the second half, the two teams embarked on a classic back-and-forth battle. The Seahawks opened the first overtime with a bullet, but Bailey Lien closed off the cage and made a nice save. Later, following the rebound, Tunstall and Lisa Murphy broke loose going the other way. Playing 7-on-7, the two speedsters had some room to work with and Tunstall dished a well-placed feed across the zone, but Murphy's ensuing shot was stoned along the far post.

With the ball on St. Mary's side of the field, CNU continued to attack. Off a corner attempt, Tunstall drilled a rocket from the top of the arc and Madison Doss caught it with her stick, but the ball squirted high and cleared the crossbar. Later, Murphy used an unbelievable spin move to clear her defender and eventually earn another corner. Tunstall and Allie Hackbarth both pumped shots off the attempt, but SMC's Christy Bishop made back-to-back saves to keep the game going.

Seven minutes into the first overtime, the Captains survived a scare as the Seahawks mounted an offensive surge. With numbers on their side, the visitors stormed down the far sideline and slipped past the defense. Needing to make a play, Lien scurried out of the cage and cut off St. Mary's angle, forcing the SMC shot to sail wide.

Retaliating, Christopher Newport stormed right back and settled into the Seahawks' end of the field. Tunstall, Thompson, and Hackbarth all drilled shots on goal, but Bishop continued her solid performance in the cage to keep the game tied. Shortly thereafter, the CNU defense made one last stop to force a second overtime. On the play, St. Mary's was able to slip free again on a solid run down the center of the field. Showing experience well beyond her years, freshman Mackenzie Neylon remained calm as the last line of defense. With a solid tackle, the first-year standout picked the Seahawks' pocket, took control, and cleared the zone to end the final threat.

With 15 more minutes on the clock, the two teams continued their track meet. CNU ripped the first three shots of the second overtime, but the first was blocked and the next two wiggled wide. Later, the visitors mounted a response and found some space deep in the Captains' zone. Making a huge defensive stop, Tunstall flew down the field on a dead sprint, caught up to the Seahawks, and stole the ball from behind.

Two minutes later, Hackbarth mirrored Tunstall's efforts with another key stop. After SMC came free on a 2-on-1 break, Neylon stepped up to disrupt the play. Still holding the advantage, St. Mary's attempted to curl around Neylon, but Hackbarth showed relentless hustle to catch up to the play from behind and punch the ball away before a shot was attempted.

Following the key defensive stands, which also included another clutch save by Lien, the Captains had enough and put an end to the contest. In the 94th minute of action, Alexa Hendrickson inserted the ball on the right side of the cage following the squad's 35th penalty corner. Although Bishop was able to stop the initial shot, Tunstall burned the defense, cut into the zone, and hammered home the rebound to cap off the comeback and ice the 4-3 victory.

Overall, Christopher Newport held a 55-11 edge in shots and a 35-5 lead in corners. The squad's 35 corners established a new single-game program record, while CNU's 55 shots rank fifth on the all-time list. St. Mary's was aided by 30 saves, including 28 by Bishop. Lien made three stops for the Captains and Savanah Cummings had one.

Although Christopher Newport managed to pin a storybook ending onto the edge-of-your-seat marathon, the first chapter was a bit troubling. St. Mary's snatched a 1-0 lead just five minutes into regulation. Later, the Captains responded with 10 straight corners and eight consecutive shots. Tunstall was especially impressive as she clanked a bullet off the far pipe before another dagger was just barely batted away by a solid defensive save by Ally Dahlen.

Despite setting the tone with the impressive run, the Captains soon found themselves down 2-0 after Olivia Edwards deposited her 16th goal of the season in the 18th minute of action.

Staring at a deficit, CNU called for a timeout and regrouped in the break. Following the stoppage, the offense found its rhythm. Although Bishop was able to send back a rainbow by Hackbarth and a bullet by Murphy on back-to-back shots, the hosts continued to strike. Eventually, Thompson took control of the ball and dribbled deep into the SMC zone. After getting Bishop off-balance, the freshman slung a dart past the goalie to put the Captains on the board.

Later, after Lien made a nice stop to keep the deficit at one entering halftime, the Captains came out flying in the second period. Although the SMC defense held up against the early onslaught, the hosts continued to press. Finally, six minutes into the period, CNU evened the score. On a beautifully-scripted play, Murphy set up outside the arc and drilled a feed through the zone to the far post. Weaver, who settled alongside the pipe, quickly deflected the roller and sent it sailing into the back of the cage to even the score at two.

With the Captains stealing the momentum, St. Mary's attempted a response. The squad earned three corners during a solid run, but the CNU defense held up. Hackbarth deflected the first shot by the Seahawks before Tunstall blocked the next two. Unfortunately, the visitors continued to surge. Eventually, Brady Wolf was able to crack the scoreboard in the 52nd minute to put the visitors back up by one.

Showing incredible resiliency, the Captains brushed off the momentary stumble and quickly responded. Four minutes after St. Mary's took the lead, CNU knotted it back up at three. Following another corner, Thompson ripped a one-timer towards the cage. With a scrum in front, Williams snuck free and tipped the shot just enough to send it through the defense and retie the game.

After that point, the Captains attempted to end the contest in regulation with a late push. The hosts uncorked the final eight shots, but St. Mary's held tough. Later, Neylon made another perfect tackle at the top of the circle on SMC's last-ditch effort as time expired to send the game to overtime.

Fortunately, Christopher Newport had enough left to withstand 23 more minutes of frantic, non-stop action to seal the victory. Along with incredible heart and a never-say-die attitude, the squad also benefitted from a raucous crowd, which included the entire Captains football team along with the regular CNU faithful. Giving the fans much to celebrate, the team never quit and eventually outlasted the Seahawks for the win.

Christopher Newport will be back in action on Saturday when the team heads to Frostburg State for an 11 a.m. contest.

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