VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. -- A nationally-ranked showdown awaits the Christopher Newport women's soccer team as they open the 2018 season in a neutral site bout on Friday night, taking on ninth-ranked UW-La Crosse in the Atlantic Orthopedic Specialists Soccer Tournament hosted by Virginia Wesleyan University. The 17th-ranked Captains will play at 7:30 pm against the Eagles in the first of two games this weekend in the tournament.
CNU is coming off a record-breaking campaign in 2017 that saw the Captains finish with a 19-1-1 overall record and reach the second round of the NCAA Tournament. The season will open against the Eagles, who posted a stellar 20-2-3 overall mark in 2017, which included a run to the national quarterfinals in the NCAA Tournament.
Live stats and a live video webcast will be available of the action from Virginia Beach this weekend, with links found on the women's soccer schedule at CNUsports.com.
The season-opening tournament will feature three of the nation's top teams in the preseason rankings as the host and 24th-ranked Marlins will take on the College of Saint Benedict in the opener at 5:00 pm. In Saturday's second round of action, Virginia Wesleyan will then face La Crosse, while the Captains will take on Saint Benedict at 8:30 pm.
Unanimously picked to win the CAC for the third straight season, the Captains feature one of it's most experienced returning units in 2018. The nine returning starters include first team All-American
Gabby Gillis and All-Region performers
Riley Cook and
Keiley McCarthy. Two more All-Conference selections return, as juniors
Carson Pokorny and
Sydney Rife round out a grouping of five first team All-Conference returners for this season's squad.
In addition to the award-winning Captains, the depth of CNU's returning core includes defenders
Shaye Doherty and
Lulu Manley, along with versatile sophomore
Maxine Borris, who saw action as both a forward and defender. The team was dangerous on both ends of the field, scoring a record 212 points while holding opponents to just 12 goals and a 0.56 goals-against average.
UW-La Crosse won only five games in 2014, but has seen a dramatic turn around in the three years since, averaging 15 wins per season. Under fifth-year head coach Jason Murphy, the Eagles have become one of the best teams in their region with 24 shutouts and 103 goals scored in the last two seasons.
This will be the first matchup all-time between the two programs.
Following Friday's tilt, the Captains will turn around to face the College of Saint Benedict for just the second time in program history. CNU suffered a 3-2 setback to the Bennies in 2011.
