NEWPORT NEWS, Va. -- After running their win streak to eight games, matching the third best roll in program history, the Christopher Newport women's soccer team moved up to No. 15 in this week's National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) Top 25. The Captains will carry a 12-1-0 overall record into a Wednesday night matchup at home against Salisbury University, with kickoff slated for 7:00 pm.
The Captains sport the finest 13-game record in program history while also remaining undefeated in conference play, with a 6-0-0 mark. With just four games left on the schedule, CNU will split home and away, facing the Sea Gulls and 19th-ranked Lynchburg College at Captains Field this week, while adding road games to to Penn State Harrisburg on Saturday, October 22 and Marymount on October 26. CNU has clinched a spot in the CAC Tournament, which will begin on October 29.
In this week's poll, the sixth of the season, the Captains joined Hardin-Simmons with the biggest jump in the rankings, moving up six spots to No. 15. William Smith held onto the number one ranking with a spotless 14-0-0 record.
Christopher Newport continues to impress on both sides of the ball, pairing the league's leading offense, averaging 3.38 goals per game, with the league's leading defense, allowing just five goals all season. The Captains rank 20th nationally in scoring offense, while also ranking 18th nationally in goals-against average (0.38).
The high-powered offense has been led by senior
Victoria Perry, scoring 23 points on eight goals and seven assists. Rookie
Carson Pokorny ranks second all-time in freshman assists, with eight, which also ranks tied for fifth on the all-time single season chart. She ranks second on the team in scoring with 14 points, while sophomore
Kayla Locklear has added 13 points on six goals and one assist.
Defensively, junior goalkeeper
Carly Maglio is also climbing the charts at CNU with a 0.38 goals-against average over 1170 minutes played. She has eight shutouts, ranking fourth in the record book for a single season, while currently besting the GAA record by a mark of 0.23. Her back line has been led by juniors
Danielle Pratt and
Kira Warner, with rookies
Shaye Doherty and
Keiley McCarthy on the outside. The defense is allowing just 6.7 shots per game this season, and has not given up more than eight shots on-goal in a game yet this year.
Wednesday's opponent comes in following a loss, 2-0, to Frostburg State on Saturday. Prior to that, the Sea Gulls had won back-to-back contests by scores of 4-0, erasing a tough stretch of three losses to Virginia Wesleyan, Mary Washington, and St. Mary's (Md.). Salisbury owns a 4-6-3 overall record with a 3-3-0 mark in conference play, and is battling for one of the six spots in the conference tournament.
Junior forward Ruthie Lucas leads the Salisbury attack, scoring 12 points on five goals and two assists, while Jenny Gavigan has added seven points with three goals scored. Defensively, Salisbury's primary goalkeeper, Hope Knussman, has a 1.28 goals-against average and a .768 save percentage.
Live stats and a live video webcast will be available for all the action starting at 7:00 pm. Those links can be found at CNUsports.com/live or through the women's soccer schedule at CNUsports.com.
Following the mid-week matchup, the Captains will hit the road to take on Penn State Harrisburg on Saturday, October 22 for a Noon kickoff.
NSCAA NCAA Division III Women - National - Poll 6 - October 18, 2016
Also receiving votes: University of Wisconsin-La Crosse (11), Wittenberg University (8), New York University (5), Middlebury College (3), Swarthmore College (2), Ohio Northern University (2)
