NEWPORT NEWS, Va. -- Becoming the fifth player in program history to register a hat trick in a single half, sophomore Riley Cook led the way as nationally-ranked CNU women's soccer scorched the Virginia Wesleyan Marlins on Monday night, 5-0. Cook scored seven points, factoring into all four first-half goals, as CNU posted the most lopsided victory over Virginia Wesleyan University in series history. 

Cook is the 15th different player to score a hat trick in CNU women's soccer history with just the second in the last five seasons. She joins Gabby Gillis, who scored three last season against Wesley College in the first half, and three other Captains as players who have scored a hat trick in a single half (Laura McFerrin - 2000, Sam Ciaravino - 2009 & 2010, Emma O'Reilly - 2012). 

On Monday night, Cook scored three goals in the span of 16:09 in the middle stages of the first half, as CNU built a 4-0 lead. Adding the assist on the third goal of the contest raised her single-game scoring total to seven points, tied for fourth in program history with McFerrin against Mary Baldwin in 1999. The seven-point outburst trails only the CNU record of 8 points in a game shared by Allison Burr-Miller and Hillary Carney, twice. 

The historical performance for Cook came on the heels of being named CAC Player of the Week just hours earlier. She scored six points in two games last week, moving into a tie for the league scoring lead. After rewriting the record books as a freshman last season, Cook is now tracking on all the second-year charts as well. Her 27 points ranks fourth in CNU history and 11 goals are the third most scored by a second-year player. 

The goals came in spectacular fashion. The first, in the 11th minute was courtesy of a Maxine Borris pass at the top of the box. The sophomore midfielder got by her defender and slipped a pass right to the feet of Cook; after a touch to herself, she ripped a hard right-footed shot into the left side of the goal. Then, just minutes later, she took it upon herself to notch her second goal with an unassisted tally in the 13th minute. After a long run from the left sideline toward the center of the field, Cook found space and blistered a high shot over the outstretched hands of the Virginia Wesleyan goalkeeper. 

The third goal of the game came on a perfect helper by Cook, finding her senior captain in the middle of the box. Cook turned on a defender and tracked back to the top of the box before lifting a cross into the center of the field. Gillis elevated and re-directed the pass into the left side of the goal for her 9th tally of the season. The first three goals were scored over a stretch of 5:09. 

The hat trick was completed in the 27th minute off a sensational pass from Shaye Doherty out of the Captains defense. The junior defender smashed a low bounding pass through the middle of the field and Cook was the first to the ball, taking one touch by the goalkeeper before slipping a low shot into the open net. 

The Captains tacked on a fifth and final goal in the second half when rookie Kristina Toms cleaned up an attempt by Hailey Price. She scored her first career goal when Price had her first shot saved by the Marlins goalkeeper, but the rebound trickled right to Toms feet for an open shot on-goal. 

In addition to the offensive explosion, the Captains defense pitched another shutout for the fourth of the season. Haley Eiser made four saves in goal to secure the clean sheet, while the back line included starters Doherty, Keiley McCarthy, and Lulu Manley, along with reserves Lauren Fitzpatrick, Montana Coward, Michelle Green, and Lauren Ciccone. 

The Captains improved to 9-1-0 overall while the Marlins fell to 6-3-1 this season. The +5 goal differential was by far the largest margin of victory for CNU in the 21-game series history. The previous best came in 2002 when the Captains won, 4-1. In the last four meetings, the Captains and Marlins had played three overtime games and had each scored five goals. 

Monday's matchup was the first of three home games this week for the Captains, who will entertain Southern Virginia University on Wednesday, October 10 at 6:00 pm in their next matchup. On Saturday, October 13, CNU will host York (Pa.) at 5:00 pm.