NEWPORT NEWS, Va. -- For the third consecutive season, the Christopher Newport women's soccer team was crowned Capital Athletic Conference Champions after a 3-1 win over second-seeded Mary Washington (12-4-1). A dominating performance in the second half carried the Captains (17-1-0) to their 12th straight victory and the league's automatic berth into next week's NCAA Division III Women's Soccer Championship Tournament. 

Playing in front of a record crowd at Captains Field, the Captains scored once in the first half and twice in the second to secure the program's third straight CAC title and ninth overall conference championship in program history. CNU outshot the Eagles, 19-8, in the second half, and 26-13 overall in the contest. 

The Captains will be making the program's 11th appearance in the NCAA Tournament and fifth in six seasons under head coach Dan Weiler. Weiler, the program's all-time winningest head coach, now has 93 wins paired with just 18 losses and 9 draws. 

In the victory, three different Captains scored goals for the dangerous CNU offense, which has scored multiple goals in all but one contest this season. Two different CNU players registered assists as five players got into the scoring column Saturday night. 

Both defenses won the first half with shots limited on both ends of the field. the Mary Washington back line gave up just a single shot on-goal in the first half, but it would find the back of the net as CNU took a 1-0 lead in the 44th minute of action. Sophomore Riley Cook set up freshman midfielder Hailey Price with a ball into the corner, where Price worked by her defender into the box. After drawing a second defender, Price slipped a pass to fellow rookie Kristina Toms in the middle of the box, who swung a right-footed shot into the left corner of the goal. It was Toms' eighth goal of the season and Price's third helper. 

With a 1-0 lead in hand, the Captains offense settled in during the second half, ripping 19 total shots with 11 on-frame. Junior Carson Pokorny netted the eventual game-winning goal in the 57th minute on a breakaway with sophomore Maddie Cochran. All four of CNU's leading scorers would play into the gamewinner, as senior Gabby Gillis started the action with a header flick down the sideline for Cook. Cook then played the ball on one touch up to Cochran, who beat a defender in a sprint down the right side. Taking on the keeper herself, Cochran got by the Mary Washington netminder and slid a soft pass across the goalmouth to Pokorny for the shot on the open goal.   

Mary Washington cut the lead in half in the 67th shot on a rifle of a shot from leading scorer Abby Zimmerman. Corinne Carson played a long ball into the middle of the field where Zimmerman collected, turned, and fired into the upper 90 beyond the hands of CNU sophomore keeper Haley Eiser. It was the only blemish in 270 minutes of CAC Tournament action for Eiser, who made seven saves in the championship game to pick up her 14th win this season. 

CNU responded quickly with an insurance goal in the 73rd minute when Cook added to her league-leading scoring total. Defender Shaye Doherty moved the ball up the left sideline before finding Cook outside the box. The Captains' sophomore star turned on her first defender with nifty footwork before splitting a pair of Eagles on the back line and lacing a low shot into the right side of the goal for her 21st tally of the year. Cook's goal extended her record-shattering scoring streak to 12 straight games, besting the previous mark set at nine by Shelby Rusnak (9/10-10/13/2000) and Bupe Okeowo (10/8-11/9/13). Her 48 points also rank tied for fourth best for a single season in league history. 

The Eagles had two close chances denied in the waning minutes of the match, including an astounding recovery by CNU defender Keiley McCarthy. After making a run to try and help build an offensive chance, McCarthy was caught upfield when Mary Washington worked on a counter-attack down the left side. With a two-on-one opportunity against CNU center back Lulu Manley, the Eagles were caught off guard when McCarthy sprinted back to challenge the cross and eliminate the opportunity. Eiser was the star of the last chance by the Eagles, who got a gorgeous cross from the right for a great look at a header from the middle of the six-yard box, but the sophomore goalkeeper was in the right place, turning away the close shot.

The Captains improved to 3-0-1 in CAC Championship appearances and 8-1-2 all-time in the CAC Women's Soccer Tournament. 
 

Christopher Newport matched the 2016 season with 17 wins for second-most all-time in program history. Over the last three championship seasons, the Captains are 53-5-2 for a winning percentage of 90%, while not dropping a single CAC game, regular season or tournament, in that stretch. 

The NCAA Division III Women's Championship bracket will be announced live on NCAA.com this Monday, November 5 at 1:30 pm.