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NEWPORT NEWS, Va. -- With a 5-1 victory on the road in Capital Athletic Conference action, the 8th-ranked Christopher Newport women's soccer team clinched the program's fifth straight regular season conference crown and will be the top seed in this year's CAC Tournament. Taylor Hudgins scored twice and Alexis Haycraft added a pair of assists to lead the dominating offensive performance as CNU improved to 15-0-1 on the season. 

With the victory, the Captains set a new program record with a 16-game unbeaten streak, while also adding their 13th straight victory. CNU is now 8-0-0 in conference play while Mary Washington falls to 7-9-1, 3-4-1 this year. 

The Eagles did get on the board first, but after trailing in a league matchup for the first time since 2015, the Captains erased the early deficit and poured in five unanswered goals for the final tally. In control for the duration, CNU trailed for only 3:24 of game action before finding the equalizer and flipping the scoreboard with four first-half scores. 

CNU outshot the Eagles, 27-5, in the game, including an impressive 17-2 edge in the first half. One of those two attempts would get the home team on the score as Brooke Bauman registered her sixth goal of the season in the 7th minute of play. Just under three and a half minutes later, rookie sensation Riley Cook knotted the game back up at one goal apiece with her 13th goal of the season. Sophomore defender Keiley McCarthy sent in a cross from the outside and Cook finished in front of the goal for the game-tying goal. 

With the game tied again, the CNU offense took over, pressuring Eagles goalkeeper, Haley Randall, with 11 shots on-goal in the first half. The game-winning goal would come off the foot of rookie Maddie Cochran in the 34th minute after a corner kick. The defense failed to clear the ball and in an ensuing scrum, Cochran found herself open with the ball and she cashed in with a shot  to the left. The freshman has now scored five goals in her first season. 

The third straight goal scored by a rookie came with just over five minutes remaining in the first half, when Emily Schoka converted for her first career strike off an assist by Haycraft. Schoka volleyed home the shot off a cross by Haycraft, giving the Captains a 3-1 lead. Just minutes later, Hudgins notched the first of her two goals as Haycraft picked up another assist. The midfielder kept her head up after a deflection and buried a hard shot by the Eagles' goalkeeper. 

In the second half, CNU continued to pressure with 10 total attempts and five on-goal. The fifth and final tally would come off the foot of Hudgins with less than a minute to go when Carson Pokorny set her up for the strike. 

With the victory, the Captains have earned a first-round bye in the 2017 CAC Tournament and will host the winner of the #4/#5 seed matchup in the semifinals. That game will be played at Captains Field on Wednesday, November 1 with kickoff time yet to be decided. Prior to that, however, the Captains have one regular season matchup remaining as CNU looks to close the book on the 2017 slate with an unbeaten mark for the first time in program history. That game will be against Marymount University on Wednesday, October 25 at 7:00 pm, as CNU hosts the Saints in CAC action.