Live Stats // Live Video
ST. MARY'S CITY, Md. -- The Christopher Newport field hockey team continued its climb up the NFHCA rankings on Tuesday as the Captains jumped to 14th in the national poll, which was released by the National Field Hockey Coaches Association.
Despite having both of their games postponed last week following weather issues, the Captains moved up one spot and earned 313 points in the latest poll to settle into 14th. CNU is now the second-highest ranked team from the Capital Athletic Conference, trailing only No. 4 Salisbury.
At the top of the poll, TCNJ continued to hold down the No. 1 spot with 34 first-place votes. Bowdoin remains second overall, and Middlebury vaulted into the No. 3 position. Salisbury and Montclair State round out the top-five.
The Captains, who sit at 7-1 on the season, will look to extend their five-game winning streak on Thursday when CNU travels to St. Mary's for a 4 p.m. contest. The Seahawks currently sit at 5-4 on the season and have won their last two outings.
For those fans unable to make it to Thursday's contest, St. Mary's will provide live stats and a video stream at SMCMAthletics.com. Direct links to both features can be found at the top of this release and on the CNU schedule page.
A LOOK AT THE CAPTAINS Christopher Newport has blanked its last five opponents, which marks the program's longest shutout streak since 2007. Boasting one of the nation's elite defensive units, CNU ranks fifth in the country with a 0.63 goals-against-average.
Bailey Lien has led the way between the pipes with a personal 0.79 goals-against-mark and a .773 save percentage. Meanwhile, freshman
Brittan Muir has helped stabilize the back line and started all eight games, while
Lauren Reinaman and
Kana Hashigami have also assisted in locking down opposing attacks.
Just as adept on the offensive end, CNU sits seventh in the NCAA with a 4.25 scoring average.
Carol Thompson leads the team with seven goals, while
Lauren Cheatham and
Alexa Weaver have five apiece. Overall, seven different Captains have registered at least two goals and 14 have posted at least one.
Lisa Murphy also leads the team with three assists.
LAST TIME OUT CNU has had a lengthy layoff after rain forced the postponement of two games last week. The Captains were last in action on September 26 when the squad took down Rhodes, 2-0, in Salem, Virginia. During that contest, Weaver and
Madison Doss both scored for Christopher Newport and Lien registered a season-high seven saves. The junior goalkeeper was eventually honored as the CAC Defensive Player of the Week for that performance.
SCOUTING THE SEAHAWKS St. Mary's has been a well-balanced squad this season as the Seahawks rank in the top-50 nationally in both goals-against-average and goals-per-game. Through nine outings, SMC is averaging 2.51 goals per contest, including a 10-1 victory at Eastern Mennonite on September 26. Megan Moore enters Thursday with a team-high six goals, and Brady Wolf has five. On the defensive end, Alyssa Thompson has compiled a 1.41 goals-against-average and a .622 save percentage.
SERIES HISTORY Christopher Newport and St. Mary's have battled 11 times with the Captains holding a 9-2 edge in the all-time series. Last season, CNU pulled out a thrilling 4-3 double-overtime victory in Newport News behind a second-half strike by
Taylor Williams and a game-winning blast by
Belle Tunstall.
UP NEXT Following Thursday's contest, Christopher Newport will continue CAC action on Saturday with an 11 a.m. game against York (Pa.) at Captains Turf Field.
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