DOVER, Del. -- The 10th-ranked Christopher Newport field hockey team nailed down its seventh straight victory as the Captains clipped Wesley, 3-0, during a Capital Athletic Conference battle on Saturday afternoon at Drass Field.
After back-to-back one-goal nail-biters against nationally-ranked Salisbury and Mary Washington, CNU slipped out to a two-goal halftime lead before adding one final strike in the second stanza to wrap up the 3-0 win.
Courtney Fiest paced the offense with a pair of goals, while
Rachael Allshouse drilled a dart of her own to round out the scoring.
Meanwhile, on the defensive end, Christopher Newport suffocated the Wolverines. The team limited Wesley to just three shots, including one on-target.
Brittan Muir,
Alexa Weaver, and
Mackenzie Neylon helped keep the WC attack in-check, while
Stephanie McKinney earned the victory with another pristine outing between the pipes.
With the win, Christopher Newport improves to 11-1 on the season, including 3-0 in league action. The setback drops Wesley to 3-10 overall and 0-3 in CAC play.
In the early going, Wesley pieced together the first scoring opportunity after earning a corner in the third minute. Unfazed, McKinney made the stop on the ensuing shot before her attack bolted down the field and controlled possession for the majority of the game.
Testing the Wesley defense, Allshouse and Fiest roped a pair of early shots, but the Wolverines fought tooth and nail to keep the Captains off the board. Later, the host's goalie made three straight saves, but the onslaught never ended. Eventually, the pressure paid off after the visitors earned a corner in the 11th minute.
After
Jackie Kotoriy sent in the ball, Muir settled it down and fed it to Fiest, who nailed a dagger into the back of the cage for a 1-0 edge.
Following the first goal, the floodgates opened as Christopher Newport pounded away at the Wesley defense. During a four-minute window in the middle of the opening period, Kotoriy, Allshouse, and
Courtnie Greene whistled on-target attempts. Later, Fiest and
Lily Bryngelson joined the fun and blistered back-to-back ropes as well, but Wesley's keeper made five straight stops to keep the deficit at one.
Despite being turned away by the Wolverines, the Captains never relented. Eventually, after a pair of shots helped loosen up the defense, Allshouse swooped in and stung her team-leading eighth goal of the year to snatch a 2-0 lead entering halftime.
Following the break, Christopher Newport never lost control. The squad dominated possession and never let the Wolverines sniff a comeback attempt. Roping an endless string of shots, the visitors nailed eight attempts during the first 15 minutes of the period. The Captains also earned a pair of corners during the assault, but Wesley held up and kept the deficit at two.
Looking to flip momentum, the Wolverines whistled for a timeout, but the stoppage did little to quiet the CNU attack. After the break,
Rachel Cooke laced an attempt that was kicked away by the keeper. Seconds later, the Captains earned a corner and made the hosts pay once again.
In the 60th minute,
Madison Doss inserted the ball from the end line. Grabbing possession at the top of the arc, Fiest settled the roller and hammered in the final nail to grab the 3-0 lead entering the last 10 minutes of regulation
With little left to prove, Christopher Newport settled in to cap off the shutout. Tough as nails on the defensive end, the Captains blocked Wesley's final two shots to ice the 3-0 victory.
Overall, CNU held a 36-3 advantage in shots and a 13-1 edge in corners.
The Captains will return to action on October 13 when they host Centre at 4 p.m.
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