NEWPORT NEWS, Va. -- After entering halftime in a scoreless deadlock, Madison Doss and Abby Cryts ripped a pair of second-half goals to lead the Christopher Newport field hockey team to a 2-0 victory over Roanoke during a non-conference battle on a gusty Sunday afternoon at Captains Turf Field.
 
Along with Doss and Cryts, the CNU defense also pieced together a sound game as the Captains silenced the nation's sixth-ranked offensive attack. Roanoke entered Sunday averaging over four goals per contest, but Bailey Lien made three saves, Sarah Miller contributed a pair of defensive stops, and the rest of the squad blanketed the Maroons on the way to the team's fifth shutout of the season.
 
With the victory, Christopher Newport improves to 9-3 on the year. The setback drops Roanoke to 8-3.
 
At the outset, Roanoke showed off its potent attack and put the pressure on the Captains. In the third minute, a Maroon slipped free on a breakaway opportunity, but Lien came charging out of the cage to clamp down on the streak. Moments later, after the visitors earned a corner, Brittan Muir shut the door on their first attempt before Lien added a diving save on the back end and Miller closed off the far post to keep the game scoreless.
 
After surviving the early scare, the Captains went to work on the other end. In the 15th minute, Carol Thompson burst into the circle and earned a corner. On the ensuing attempt, Bailey Miller laced a centering feed that just missed connecting with a pair of sticks in a crowded zone. Shortly thereafter, Cryts grabbed control and raced to the near corner while shaking a pair of defenders before Miller cut back into the circle to draw another corner.
 
Unfortunately, the Captains sustained surge in the middle of the first half was handled by the Maroons to keep the hosts off the board.
 
Continuing to test each other, Roanoke battled back with a solid run in the 20th minute. Although Doss broke up an initial pass, the visitors eventually earned a corner. On the play, Rachael Allshouse jumped into the passing lane to disrupt the attempt before Miller cleaned up and cleared the zone. Moments later, CNU retaliated as Josie Morgan bodied up a defender in the far corner, corralled the ball, and hammered a feed into the circle, but Kana Hashigami's shot just squirted wide.
 
With time ticking down in the first half, the two squads traded last-minute runs. With just under two minutes left, the Maroons earned their sixth corner of the half. Although Lien hit the turf to prevent a shot off the initial feed, Roanoke retained possession. Pushing in, the visitors nearly found an opening, but Rachel Cooke and Sarah Miller took over between the pipes and never gave RC a sliver of daylight.
 
Following the surge, Christopher Newport attempted to strike back. Cooke grabbed control near midfield and slipped a perfect feed to Allshouse, who sprung loose on the far side of the field. On a dead sprint, she cut towards the cage, but Roanoke's goalie was able to trip her up at the last moment to keep the game scoreless entering halftime.
 
After the break, the pressure continued to mount against the RC defense. Cooke made a tackle at midfield to keep the ball in the offensive zone before Allshouse fed a roller into the circle to earn a corner in the 40th minute. After Doss inserted the ball, Sarah Miller tapped it over to Morgan, who laced a screamer towards the cage.
 
Playing their own version of pinball, Allshouse eventually punched the ball over to Doss, who deflected it into the back of the cage to give the Captains a 1-0 advantage.
 
With one goal on the board, CNU tried to give it company with a relentless assault in the middle of the period. Bailey Miller unleashed an absolute scorcher from just inside the circle, but Roanoke's goalie managed to kick it aside. Later, Hashigami cruised over to the sideline and made a clutch save to keep the ball from going out of bounds before chipping in with a tackle to keep pressure on RC's defensive unit.
 
Shortly thereafter, with 14 minutes left, Thompson showed off her stick skills by dribbling around and through three Maroons before ripping a shot that sailed wide. Mackenzie Neylon also drilled a dart that was blocked by a defender, but the Captains never relented. Eventually, Thompson made a great tackle along the far sideline and pounded the ball into the circle in the 58th minute.
 
Looking to capitalize, Bailey Miller showed off a delicate touch and pushed the roller to Cryts, who had just checked into the game. Making every second count, the second-year sparkplug turned and fired a rope into the cage to give the Captains a little breathing room with a 2-0 advantage.
 
Attempting to retaliate, the Maroons eventually rolled into the offensive zone, but Neylon cut off an insertion at the top of the circle to clamp down on the response. Minutes later, the visitors managed to slip free on a two-on-one break, but Muir showed off her speed and disrupted the play just enough before Lien came out of the cage and pressured the ball before it rolled out of bounds.
 
With time winding down, Lien eventually came back to make one final save off a corner attempt with three minutes left before Roanoke's last-ditch effort ended with an off-target shot to seal the 2-0 win.
 
Overall, Christopher Newport held a 14-9 edge in shots, while the Maroons led in corners, 8-7. Both Lien and Roanoke's Heather Schauder finished with three saves during the contest.
 
CNU will return to action on Wednesday when the Captains host St. Mary's (Md.) in a Capital Athletic Conference showdown at 6 p.m.
 
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