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NEWPORT NEWS, Va. -- After a 2-0 win in the CAC Semifinal round, the top-seeded Christopher Newport women's soccer earned hosting rights for Saturday's Conference Championship matchup against No. 2 seeded Frostburg State University. Kickoff is scheduled for 5:30 pm at Captains Field, as the Captains (15-2-1) take on the Bobcats (10-8-1), who earned a berth into the title game with a penalty kick shootout win over St. Mary's (Md.) in the semifinals.
CNU is seeking its first Capital Athletic Conference Championship, while the Bobcats hope to capture their third conferenec title in the last five seasons. Frostburg won the crown in 2012, in a PK shootout over Salisbury, and in 2014, with a 2-0 win over Mary Washington. This will be the second appearance in four seasons for the Captains in the CAC Championship, with a 1-1 draw to York (Pa.) in 2013 as the other game on record.
Live stats and live video will be available just before kickoff, with both links found at CNUsports.com/live. Fans can also browse the CNU Women's Soccer Schedule at CNUsports.com to find direct links to both. Admission to Saturday's event is $5 for adults and $3 for children, with tickets paid for in cash only and good for both the women's and men's championships being played in a doubleheader at 5:30 and 8:00 pm.
In Wednesday night's win over Mary Washington, Christopher Newport senior
Victoria Perry became the program's all-time leading scorer, with 104 career points. She picked up two assists, making her the first 30-goal, 30-assist player in program history, and joining three men's soccer players as the only four Captains to reach the plateau. Among active players, Perry is one of only 12 Division III women's soccer players to join the 30-30 club during her career,
The senior from Purcellville, Va. is a huge factor in the Captains' offense, which has helped lead the team to the second most wins in program history. Perry has 27 points on eight goals and 11 assists, leading a group of six players in double figure scoring this season. Rookie
Carson Pokorny has added 16 points (4g, 8a), and sophomore
Kayla Locklear has added 13 points (6g, 1a).
The Captains also feature a particularly stingy defensive unit this season, ranking among the best all-time since CNU began women's soccer in 1997. With 11 shutouts and only seven goals allowed through the first 18 games, CNU boasts a program best 0.38 goals-against average, which ranks 19th in the nation. Junior goalkeeper
Carly Maglio has been rock solid between the pipes all season, leading the league in GAA and save percentage, with a 0.903 mark.
Frostburg State leans heavily on rookie forward Brooke Shehade, as the freshman has scored nearly a third of the Bobcats' points this season. She comes into Saturday's matchup with 21 points on eight goals and five assists, and the next highest scoring total for Frostburg is nine, from Haley Dalphon. A second-half team, Frostburg State has scored 22 of their 26 goals after halftime, while only allowing eight. Unlike CNU with Maglio, the Bobcats have a pair of goalkeepers who have seen a significant amount of game action this season. Rhianna Lapen has a 1.02 GAA in seven starts and 16 appearances while Karen Belteton has a 1.44 mark in 11 starts and 12 games played. Lapen was the winner of the PK shootout against the Eagles, sending Frostburg into the title game.
The game marks only the fifth time since 2001 that the top two seeds have matched up in the CAC women's soccer championship. In the regular season, Christopher Newport shut out Frostburg State, 2-0, on the road, in the middle of an eight-game winning streak. The loss was the last setback for the Bobcats, who are unbeaten in six straight games since, while outscoring opponents 12-2 in the run. The winning team will secure the conference's automatic entry into the NCAA Division III Women's Soccer Championship, with the field being announced in an online selection show Monday at 1:30 pm.
