NEWPORT NEWS, Va. -- Behind an electric offensive attack, the eighth-ranked Christopher Newport field hockey team picked up its ninth straight victory as CNU cruised past Frostburg State, 8-0, during a Capital Athletic Conference battle on a gorgeous Sunday afternoon at Captains Turf Field.
 
Courtnie Greene helped anchor the attack as she played a role in half of the team's goals. The junior posted a second-half strike and collected three assists, which equaled the fourth-highest single-game total in program history. Rachael Allshouse also contributed five points, including her sixth game-winning goal of the year. That established a new single-season program record, breaking the previous mark of five set by Diana Golden in 2007 and matched by Caitlin Cahill in 2011 and Kelsey Clark in 2013.
 
Along with the leading scorers, six other Captains registered at least one point in the game, including a goal and an assist by Rachel Cooke.
 
With the victory, Christopher Newport improves to 13-1 on the season, including 4-0 in league action. The setback drops Frostburg State to 3-11 with an 0-3 mark in CAC play.
 
From the outset, the Captains set the tone and blistered the FSU defense. Less than five minutes into regulation, the hosts earned a corner. After Cooke settled the ball at the top of the circle, she pushed it over to Greene, who slipped it inside to Allshouse. Going to work on the interior, the junior eventually got the goalie to hit the turf, spun the other way, and sliced one into the back of the cage for a fast 1-0 edge.
 
Two minutes later, Jackie Kotoriy helped stretch the lead. First, the freshman deflected a pass to disrupt a clear attempt. Shortly thereafter, she regained control and connected with Allshouse, who burst towards the cage. With the goalie coming out to contest her run, the junior bounced a feed over to Carol Thompson, who punched one home along the left post to snatch a two-goal edge.
 
Meanwhile, on the other side, Christopher Newport kept the FSU attack quiet. Brittan Muir cleaned up a pair of runs, including a pass that snuck into the circle. Later, Alexa Weaver chased down an attacker on the near side of the field, dropped to a knee, and stoned an attempt to suffocate another rally.
 
Following the defensive stand, the attack went right back to work. In the 15th minute, the Captains earned another corner. This time, Courtney Fiest settled the insertion at the top of the circle before dishing it over to Greene. Flashing perfect timing, the junior slammed one towards the cage before Allshouse deflected it at the last moment to send it spinning through the defense for a 3-0 advantage.
 
Controlling possession, Mackenzie Neylon served in a beautiful pass to Fiest, who forced a corner shortly after the squad's third goal. Later, Kennedy Johnson kept the ball in the offensive end with a pair of stops up the far sideline before Weaver swallowed a roller at midfield to brush aside another clear attempt.
 
Finally, in the waning moments of the first half, Frostburg State managed to hammer the ball across midfield, but Johnson was there again. The sophomore chased down a long deflection before it sailed out of bounds before corralling a bouncer near the top of the circle. Stephanie McKinney also kicked away the visitor's first on-target attempt to keep the Bobcats scoreless entering halftime.
 
After the break, Christopher Newport peppered the FSU defense. During the initial surge, Ariana Samuel picked off a clear attempt and whistled a shot that just missed the mark. Later, Greene and Cooke both had on-target attempts turned away, and Neylon sailed another pinpoint pass through a cluttered zone that barely missed connecting with a stick in the 38th minute.
 
Unfazed by the defense, Greene stole the ball after a restart and flashed her wheels. Burning right past a pair of defenders, she circled in from the right side and flipped the ball over to Cooke, who ripped a dart that bounced off the crossbar and settled into the back of the cage for a 4-0 edge.
 
Staring at a daunting deficit, Frostburg State attempted to respond but had little success against the stout CNU defense. In the 45th minute, the visitors managed to slip free momentarily, but Johnson and Muir handled the threat. Johnson caught up to the breakaway and cut off the attacker's shooting angle. Without a clean look, the Bobcat attempted to slip a pass inside, but Muir jumped on it and quickly flipped the field.
 
Responding to the FSU attack, Christopher Newport quickly stretched its lead. After a restart near midfield, Weaver lofted an aerial over three defenders into the left corner. On the other side, Cooke took possession, blew past a defender during a one-on-one situation, and connected with Greene in the center of the circle, who turned and fired a rope into the cage for a 5-0 edge.
 
Trading rallies, Frostburg State pieced together a surge after CNU's goal, but the Captains remained vigilant. On a run up the near sideline, Angelica Florendo played it perfectly and ran stride-for-stride with the attacker to prevent a breakaway. Later, Bailey Miller intercepted a ball at the top of the circle, and Neylon defended a shot off a corner attempt to keep the Bobcats scoreless in the middle of the second half.
 
Once again, Christopher Newport had an effective response to Frostburg State's assault. In the 55th minute, after Lucy Kadonoff had a shot turned away, she got her stick on an FSU pass and helped direct the ball out to Madison Doss, who smashed a missile into the back of the cage. Later, Abby Cryts put together a magnificent run. After grabbing a pass from Samuel, she chipped the ball around one defender, cut back around a second, and launched a strike past Frostburg State's goalie to snatch a 7-0 lead.
 
On the other side of the field, the Bobcats picked up the pressure but still had little success against Christopher Newport's back line. The visitors earned a pair of corner attempts, but Weaver deflected the first before Olivia Davis kicked away back-to-back shots on the second. Moments later, with eight minutes left in regulation, Muir and Kana Hashigami rode an attacker around the arc before Mary Grace Humes came out of the cage and played the angles perfectly to force an off-kilter shot that banged off the side of the goal.
 
After withstanding FSU's last assault, the Captains looked to light up the scoreboard one last time. Neylon moved up from the back line and made a beautiful run to cut through a wall of defenders, but her ensuing shot just wiggled wide. Later, Riley Keeter created havoc along the interior as she settled along the left post and pounded away. Although FSU managed to turn away those attempts, Keeter's relentlessness eventually earned CNU a stroke in the final minutes of regulation.
 
Taking the attempt, Weaver added the final punctuation mark as she tagged the back of the cage with her second goal of the year to cap off the 8-0 triumph.
 
Overall, Christopher Newport held a 39-6 advantage in shots and a 14-5 lead in corners. Meanwhile, McKinney collected her 13th win of the year and teamed up with Davis and Humes to lock down the squad's ninth shutout of the season.
 
CNU will return to action on Thursday when the squad heads to St. Mary's (Md.) for a 4 p.m. showdown.
 
---CNU---