SALISBURY, Md. -- The third-ranked Christopher Newport women's soccer team will be back in action on Saturday, October 12 as the Captains travel to Salisbury University (8-2-2, 4-0-0) for a battle for first-place in the Capital Athletic Conference standings. Christopher Newport is 11-0-2 overall with a 4-0-0 start in conference play and will kick off against the Sea Gulls at 2:00 pm.
Heading into Saturday's pivotal conference matchup, Christopher Newport remains one of only ten teams in Division III women's soccer without a loss this season. The Captains rank 10th out of 430 teams with a .923 winning percentage this season and are currently riding a four-game winning streak.
In conference play this season, the Captains are outscoring opponents 21-2 as they head into the final game of the first round of the home-and-home double round robin series. Salisbury has outscored CAC foes 12-1 with three straight shutouts heading into Saturday's matchup. The Sea Gulls are coming off back-to-back 4-0 wins at St. Mary's (Md.) and versus York (Pa.).
Pairing a dominant offense with one of the top defenses in the nation, Christopher Newport ranks 13th nationally in scoring offense with 3.77 goals per game and 7th nationally in goals-against average with a 0.32 mark. That Captains have scored the fifth most goals in the country this season with 49 scoring tallies coming from 14 different players.
Leading the offensive powerhouse has been junior
Riley Cook with a league-leading 34 points on 16 goals and 2 assists. The all-time scoring leader at Christopher Newport has scored at least two points in seven of the last eight games and has been held scoreless in only four contests this year. Junior
Madison Cochran has come on strong with 11 points in the last three games on five goals and one assist. She ranks second on the team in scoring with 17 total points (7g, 3a).
Defensively, junior goalkeeper
Haley Eiser continues her impressive march up the all-time charts at Christopher Newport with her 10th win of the season and 28th of her career. She ranks fifth in Captains history after starting for just two seasons. She also leads the program's all-time efforts in career goals-against average and save percentage while leading the league this year and ranking in the top-25 nationally in both categories.
Salisbury started the year 2-2-0 but has run off an unbeaten streak of eight games since September 11 against Virginia Wesleyan. The Sea Gulls have won four straight and have gone 6-0-2 with five shutouts in the run. Senior Lydia Narum has scored a team-leading six goals while junior Brooke Rossiter has added four goals and two assists for 10 points. Defensively, veteran goalkeeper Emma Hill ranks second in the conference with a 0.49 goals-against average. The Sea Gulls have allowed just six goals in 12 games this season.
Christopher Newport will return to Captains Field on Wednesday, October 16 against St. Mary's (Md.). The Captains defeated the Seahawks, 3-1, on Wednesday night and will kickoff against St. Mary's for the second time this season at 7:00 pm.
