FREDERICKSBURG, Va. -- Trailing by a goal in the second half, the 10th-ranked Christopher Newport field hockey team showed a steely resolve and battled back as CNU capitalized on a pair of late strikes to upend No. 19 Mary Washington, 3-2, during a crucial Capital Athletic Conference showdown on Wednesday afternoon at the Battleground Turf Field.
 
Overcoming the late deficit, Alexa Weaver drilled the equalizer on a penalty stroke attempt before Courtney Fiest capped off a tremendous rally with the game-winning goal in the 68th minute to ice the victory.
 
Along with the late-game heroics, Carol Thompson opened the scoring with her third goal of the year early in the first half. Meanwhile, on the defensive end, Stephanie McKinney contributed three saves to pick up her 10th victory of the season.
 
With the win, Christopher Newport improves to 10-1 on the season, including 2-0 in the CAC. The setback drops Mary Washington to 7-5 with an 0-1 mark in league action.
 
After the Eagles slipped out to a 2-1 lead in the 41st minute, the Captains dug in and immediately retaliated. Rachel Cooke grabbed possession on the near side of the field and broke down a defender. Showing off her stick skills, she backed in towards the circle, spun, and punched the ball off the foot of an Eagle to earn a corner just three minutes after UMW's strike.
 
Although Mary Washington managed to push back against a pair of CNU corners, Brittan Muir kept the pressure on. The junior defender came charging towards the zone, intercepted a clearing attempt, and unloaded a missile that corkscrewed into the circle. Following a scrum, the Captains were awarded a penalty stroke in the 45th minute.
 
Capitalizing on the opportunity, Weaver took the shot and snapped off a scorcher into the right side of the cage to knot the score at two.
 
Back on even ground, Christopher Newport kept testing the Mary Washington defense. Although the Eagles attempted to move the ball up the far sideline, they ran directly into Kennedy Johnson. The sophomore walled off half of the field and never let a roller slip by as she continued to brush back every clear attempt while ensuring that CNU kept possession.
 
Meanwhile, Thompson continued to poke at the UMW back line. The senior burst into the circle and earned a corner, but back-to-back blasts by Rachael Allshouse and Courtnie Greene were turned away. Later, Madison Doss grabbed control near midfield and punched the ball towards Jackie Kotoriy. In a flash, Kotoriy tapped it to Thompson, who sprung free again, but her breakaway was stoned by Mary Washington's goalie in the 50th minute.
 
Trying to hold up against the CNU attack, Mary Washington called for a timeout and regrouped in the break.
 
Following the stoppage, the Eagles mounted a few threats but nothing Christopher Newport couldn't handle. Weaver blew up a corner attempt after darting through a pair of attackers. Johnson also bodied up an Eagle and sent her crashing to the turf along the edge of the arc to thwart another surge.
 
Still attacking, Mary Washington earned another corner in the 62nd minute, but the defense pieced together another highlight-reel stand. After an initial shot, McKinney hit the turf and made a diving stop along the mouth of the goal. Although the Eagles were able to secure the rebound, Muir cleaned up on the back end and sent the ball whistling out of the circle before any damage could be done.
 
With time winding down, the CNU attack regained its footing. Thompson kicked off the late surge after earning a corner before making a tackle along the sideline to prevent the Eagles from clearing the ball. Later, Fiest stepped up with a marvelous performance. Playing well beyond her years, the freshman stole a roller near midfield and poked away another attempt during a one-on-one showdown along the far side of the field.
 
After grabbing possession, Fiest battled her way into the circle to help earn another corner attempt with less than three minutes remaining in regulation. Following the insertion by Kotoriy, Greene settled down the bouncer and fed it back to Fiest, who finished what she started. From the far side, she dipped low and drilled a one-timer straight through the defense to grab the 3-2 lead.
 
With only minutes remaining, the Captains never let the Eagles respond. Fiest quickly stole the ball after the restart to break up the initial wave. Moments later, Thompson knocked away another attempt, Greene sent a roller out of the circle, and Cooke eventually worked her way into the corner. Slicing off crucial seconds, the sophomore faced three defenders in the right corner but held up against the onslaught and kept possession. Later, after Mary Washington finally grabbed control, Greene stole it back twice just before the horn sounded to ice the victory.
 
Overall, Christopher Newport held an 18-9 advantage in shots, including a 12-5 edge in the second half. The Captains also registered seven of their eight corners in the final 35 minutes.
 
Prior to the late-game surge, the Captains got off to a solid start in the opening period. Coming off of the shutout victory over No. 3 Salisbury on Saturday, the defense continued to shine early against Mary Washington. Fiest cleared out a roller that wiggled into the circle during the opening moments before the hosts earned a corner. Unimpressed, Weaver charged out to disrupt the initial insertion before McKinney locked down the left post and kicked away a pointblank attempt.
 
Later, after the Eagles brushed aside a corner attempt by the Captains, Mackenzie Neylon broke up a surge at the top of the circle before Johnson won a battle in the near corner to regain possession.
 
Looking to find their rhythm on the offensive end, Allshouse grabbed control near midfield and slipped a roller up the far sideline. Tracking it down, Kotoriy caught up to the ball and blasted a rope into the zone from the far corner. With the defense on its heels, Thompson burst across the circle and hammered away.
 
Outnumbered along the right pipe, Thompson shrugged off the defense and eventually punched one through to give the visitors a 1-0 lead in the seventh minute.
 
Staring at an early deficit, Mary Washington responded. Facing a relentless attack, the Captains held up. Cooke caught up to a cross the slipped through the circle and punched it the other way. Later, Greene dropped down for a tackle at the top of the arc before intercepting a feed deep into the zone off a corner attempt.

Although UMW finally broke through in the 18th minute, the defense never lost its focus. The Eagles quickly earned another corner, but Weaver deflected the rocket. Moments later, Muir came out to stop a pass at the top of the circle, and Fiest ripped the ball off the stick of a shooter along the circle before flipping the field momentarily.
 
Later, with time ticking away in the first half, Weaver cleaned up another rally before Mary Washington earned one last corner. This time, Muir charged out to frustrate the shooters at the top of the circle before Weaver stole the ball deep inside the zone. Still fighting, Cooke won a duel at the edge of the arc to regain possession and help keep the game knotted at one entering halftime.
 
Despite UMW's early strike in the second half, Weaver and Fiest fired back with darts of their own to erase the deficit and seal another top-20 victory.
 
Christopher Newport will return to action on Saturday when the squad travels to Dover, Delaware for a 1 p.m. showdown with Wesley.
 
---CNU---