ST. MARY'S CITY, Md. -- The Christopher Newport women's soccer team will play the second game of a twin bill against St. Mary's College of Maryland on Wednesday, facing off against the Seahawks at 3:30 pm. The Captains (8-3-1, 3-1-0) will look to add to its three-game winning streak as they take on the first-place Seahawks (6-5-0, 4-0-0) in CAC action.
St. Mary's comes into Wednesday's contest in sole possession of first place in the Capital Athletic Conference after picking up three straight wins in conference play. CNU is also riding a three-game win streak against the league, and both teams have captured one-goal victories against Mary Washington in that stretch. The all-time series with St. Mary's (Md.) extends back to just 2007, with CNU holding a modest 4-2 advantage in the matchup. Last season, CNU captured a 3-0 win over the Seahawks at home, avenging a 2-1 double overtime loss in 2013.
The Captains continue to feature a balanced team with a strong defense and potent offense. Showcasing the strength in the back is the fact that three different CNU players have collected CAC Defensive Player of the Week honors, including this week as sophomore goalkeeper
Carly Maglio was named the league's top defender. Maglio has started four straight games and now has a 4-2 record in goal this season with a 1.03 goals against average. She and junior
Haley Casanova have split time between the pipes with near identical stats to this point in the season, as both are among the league leaders in both GAA and save percentage.
Playing in front of CNU's netminders has been a strong unit that includes
Sam Rabinek,
Kira Warner,
Carly Melkus and
Danielle Pratt. With one junior and three sophomores starting, the Captains defense continues to improve and is allowing under ten shots per game with just 12 goals allowed.
Offensively, Christopher Newport continues to be led by junior scoring leader
Victoria Perry, who has now registered ten goals and three assists for 23 points. She ranks third behind Wesley's Janiah Moore and one of her opposing forwards in Wednesday's game, Gillian Sawyer. Sawyer, the Seahawks top offensive threat, leads the league in both goals scored and points, eclipsing the 30-point plateau with 14 goals and three assists so far this season.
Coming on strong in her junior season, midfielder
Allie McWilliams has turned it on of late and now is tied for the league lead in assists with six. After scoring two goals in her last two games, McWilliams now ranks second on the team with a career-best 10 points this season.
St. Mary's has averaged over three goals per game in their six wins this season while putting away under one per contest in the five losses. The defense has struggled, allowing a 1.96 goals against average, but the offense led by Sawyer has made up for it more often than not by averaging 2.3 goals per game this season. Sawyer is supported by CAC Player of the Week Claire Kostelnik with four goals and four assists this season, totaling 12 points.
Wednesday's game will be played immediately following the men's matchup in a conference soccer doubleheader. A full recap will be available at CNUsports.com.
