NEWPORT NEWS, Va. -- Despite a valiant effort on both sides of the ball, the fourth-ranked Christopher Newport field hockey team saw its 2017 campaign come to an end as CNU was clipped by No. 8 Kean, 2-1, in the NCAA Sweet 16 on a wintry Saturday afternoon at Captains Turf Field.
During the postseason battle,
Jackie Kotoriy drove home a goal off a feed from
Rachel Cooke early in the second half to knot the score at one, but Kean broke the deadlock less than two minutes later and hung on for the victory.
With the setback, Christopher Newport concludes the season with a 17-2 record. Meanwhile, the victory bumps Kean to 21-2 and vaults the Cougars into the Elite Eight for a showdown with No. 10 Franklin & Marshall on Sunday at 1 p.m.
At the outset, the Captains were the aggressor and tested the Kean defense.
Mackenzie Neylon laced a long dart into the circle that
Rachael Allshouse deflected towards the cage, but the Cougar keeper made the save. Moments later,
Courtnie Greene made a tackle to regain possession and
Carol Thompson punched a pointblank dart, but the shot was blocked by a defender.
Still pressuring, Thompson swiped the ball near midfield, blew past a pair of defenders, and stormed into the circle to earn CNU's first corner in the sixth minute. After Kotoriy inserted the ball, Allshouse pounded away on the doorstep. The junior blistered back-to-back shots and later added a long-range rope, but Kean's goalie got her stopper on all three attempts.
Unfazed by the defensive work,
Kennedy Johnson slipped a feed from the far sideline that split two Cougars before settling on the stick of Greene in the ninth minute. After corralling the pass, the junior chipped the ball into the circle where Allshouse slammed another dagger that just scooted wide.
Despite the relentless pressure by the Christopher Newport attack, Kean found an opening first. In the 11th minute, after securing their first corner of the game, the Cougars jammed home a shot from the top of the circle to steal a 1-0 lead.
With some momentum, the Cougars attempted to tack on a little insurance, but the Captains stepped up. Greene cleaned out a bouncer that snuck into the circle. Later, after Kean earned a second corner, Johnson dropped low and deflected the attempt along the far post to keep the deficit at one. Still battling,
Alexa Weaver batted down a dart along the arc before
Stephanie McKinney made a diving save off a corner attempt, which was eventually cleared out by Johnson.
Looking to jump-start the attack in the final minute, Allshouse broke free on a race down the field. Although the initial run was cut off, Thompson kept the ball in the circle to earn a corner. Unfortunately,
Courtney Fiest's shot ran wide.
After halftime, the CNU defense broke up an initial surge by Kean before the attack went to work. First, on the back line,
Brittan Muir swallowed up a feed into the circle, Johnson made a tackle in the corner, and Cooke picked off a pass in the center of the field to flip possession.
Back in control, Kotoriy added pressure on the offensive end to earn a quick corner. Less than a minute later, Greene got swarmed under by the Kean defense. After being tossed to the turf, she bounced right back, grabbed her stick, and smashed a blast into the circle that was deflected by Thompson. Although the initial shot was blocked, the Captains quickly earned a second corner in the 46th minute.
Hanging tough against CNU's corner plays, the Cougars broke up the attempt, but Christopher Newport remained in control. Greene eventually regained possession near the 25-yard-line and slipped a perfect pass to Cooke, who grabbed it on the run and burst towards the cage. Showing great instincts, the sophomore flipped one to Kotoriy, who punched it home along the right pipe to even the score at one.
Unfortunately, Kean immediately responded after sniping another strike off a corner in the 49th minute to retake a one-goal lead.
On their heels, the Captains tried to piece together a response. Neylon hammered the ball into the offensive end before the attack took over again. Keeping possession,
Lily Bryngelson forced a turnover with persistent pressure along the near sideline before Fiest shrugged off a hard hit along the circle to earn a corner. After
Madison Doss inserted the ball from the end line, Allshouse managed to snap off an on-target attempt, but Kean's goalie made another stop.
With time ticking down, Cooke made a tackle and Greene fired the ball into the body of a defender to earn another corner, but the Cougars withstood the surge. Later, Cooke pushed the ball into the circle along the far side to earn two more corners in the final minutes, but the Captains came away empty-handed again as Kean closed out the victory.
Overall, Christopher Newport held a 14-6 advantage in shots and an 8-5 lead in penalty corners. Despite the statistical advantages, the Captains could not quite overcome their deficit as Kean stormed into the Elite Eight.
---CNU---
