BRIDGEWATER, Va. -- In her first game back after suffering a season-ending knee injury last year, Lauren Cheatham showed no signs of rust as the senior erupted for her third career hat-trick and added an assist for good measure as she helped lift the No. 16 Christopher Newport field hockey team to a 6-1 victory over Bridgewater in the squad's season opener on Tuesday evening at Jopson Field.

Bolstered by an electric second half, Cheatham finished the contest with seven points, which equals the fourth-highest single-game total in program history. Her third career hat-trick also matches the program record, tying Megan McCreedy and Wendy Wilson for the most career three-goal efforts in CNU history.

In addition to Cheatham's offensive assault, Cori Black gave the squad an early lead with a quick strike in her collegiate debut, while Mackenzie Neylon and Sarah Miller added second-half scores to put the game out-of-reach.

Early in the contest, the Eagles came out swinging. The hosts pieced together a pair of solid runs, but Bailey Lien was a wall between the pipes and made two saves to keep the scoreboard clean. Later, after brushing aside a Bridgewater penalty corner, the Captains answered with a lethal attack.

Kicking things off, Cheatham and Carol Thompson roped back-to-back darts that were batted away before Madison Doss launched a pair of shots on cage. Unfortunately, her first attempt was knocked away by Bridgewater's last line of defense before her second try was stoned by BC's goalie. Unfazed by the Eagle defense, Christopher Newport never relented.

Finally, in the 24th minute of action, the visitors found an opening and lit up the board. After Doss made a great defensive play to intercept a clear attempt on the near sideline, the attack settled in. With the ball just inside the arc, Black tapped a pass to herself to clear a defender before lacing a dagger into the far corner of the cage to give the Captains a 1-0 advantage.

Although Bridgewater responded just three minutes later, CNU shot back right before halftime. After earning a penalty corner as the clock ticked down towards zero, the Captains kept the play alive. Neylon pumped a quick shot that was stopped by the goalie, but Cheatham was there to clean up. With the ball still alive in the middle of the zone, she swooped in and pounded a blast to the back of the cage to give Christopher Newport a 2-1 edge entering the break.

After halftime, Cheatham got things rolling quickly in the second stanza. Just 21 seconds into the new period, she scooted through a cluttered zone, curled around a defender, and blasted her second goal of the game to give the visitors a little breathing room.

With the momentum firmly planted on the CNU sideline, the Captains took advantage with an outstanding run in the middle of the second half. In the 42nd minute, Cheatham served as the facilitator as she sent a textbook feed to Neylon, who finished off the pass for her first career goal. Just over 10 minutes later, Miller joined the party as the junior shook a defender and ripped a dagger through the defense to give Christopher Newport a 5-1 edge.

Holding a comfortable advantage, the defense locked down and kept the Bridgewater attack at bay. In addition to a suffocating effort along midfield led by Lisa Murphy, Stephanie McKinney also sent back an on-target shot after subbing in for Lien in the middle of the period.

With time winding down, the Captains tacked on one final goal in the waning moments of the game. After Doss cleared the defensive zone, Josie Morgan took control and drew the attention of the Bridgewater defense. With the BC back line crashing down, the second-year standout made a heads-up play and snuck a pinpoint pass through a host of defenders. After Cheatham corralled the roller, she capped off her hat-trick with an easy tap-in on an empty net to seal the 6-1 victory.

Overall, Christopher Newport held a 19-6 lead in shots and an 8-4 advantage in penalty corners during the game. Lien and McKinney also combined for three saves to help stifle the Bridgewater offense.

CNU will return to action on Sunday at 1 p.m. when the squad kicks off its home slate with a non-conference battle against Ferrum at Captains Turf Field.

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