NEWPORT NEWS, Va. -- Following a season that saw Christopher Newport women's soccer reach new heights, including a run to the NCAA Division III National Semifinals, head coach Dan Weiler has announced the schedule for the follow-up campaign in 2019. CNU will return to the field starting on August 30 with a tough slate that includes five NCAA Tournament participants from last season in a group of nine non-conference games. 

The five tournament teams combined to go 5-5-1 in last year's NCAA Division III Championship with four of the five advancing to at least the second round of action.

CNU's season will open against postseason participant Westfield State out of Massachusetts, who opened the 2018 tournament with a loss to eventual national champion Williams College. The Captains will take on the Owls on August 30 as part of the Virginia Wesleyan kick-off tournament in Virginia Beach. CNU will also face Luther College on day two of the event with an 8:00 pm start time on August 31. 

The Captains will then play their third straight game on the pitch across the water as they face the host Virginia Wesleyan Marlins on September 3 for a 7:30 kickoff. The Marlins advanced to the NCAA Second Round last season and wrapped up the year ranked No. 24 nationally with a 15-7-1 record.  

Non-conference play continues with a strong field at the CNU Captains Invite on September 6-7 as Christopher Newport hosts Emory University and Dickinson College for a pair. First, the host Captains will take on the Eagles after the UAA squad reached the NCAA Second Round last season before being ousted by Lynchburg, who CNU will also face in 2019. Dickinson rounds out the classic format with Virginia Wesleyan serving as the fourth team and the Captains will take on the Red Devils, who finished with an 11-4-4 record last season, at 8:00 pm on Saturday. 

The three-game home swing concludes with Methodist University traveling to CNU for a non-conference bout on September 14. Kickoff against the Monarchs is scheduled for 2:00 pm. The Captains will then fly to Texas for a pair of games at national power Trinity (Texas) on September 20 and 22. First, CNU will take on Mary Hardin-Baylor at 6:00 pm Friday before facing the host Tigers on Sunday at Noon. Trinity lost just one game in 2018 when they bowed out of the NCAA Tournament in the second round to Hardin-Simmons and finished the year ranked No. 13 in the country. 

The final non-conference game of the season will be played at home against the University of Lynchburg. The in-state rivals played twice last season with the Hornets capturing a hard-fought 2-1 decision in the regular season and the Captains picking up an historical 1-0 win in the NCAA National Quarterfinals, propelling CNU into the Final Four. The next chapter in the series will kick off at 6:00 pm from Captains Field on September 25. 

After concluding a rigorous non-conference schedule, the Captains will look to navigate their way through the Capital Athletic Conference in a double round-robin format in 2019. CNU will face all five opponents twice with a home-and-home series scheduled against the rest of the league for the first time in CAC history. CNU has won six straight regular season titles in league play and three straight conference tournament crowns and the team's attempt to repeat again in 2019 will begin on September 28 at home against York (Pa.).

CNU will host York, Southern Virginia, and Mary Washington to start the conference schedule on September 28, October 2, and October 5, respectively. The Captains then hit the road to take on St. Mary's (October 9) and Salisbury (October 12) before starting the second round of play. The final five games of the regular season start with a home game against St. Mary's (October 16) followed by a three-game road trip at Mary Washington (October 19), Southern Virginia (October 23), and York (October 26). Finally, the senior class will play their last home game of the regular season on October 30 against Salisbury University heading into postseason play. 

The Capital Athletic Conference Tournament will begin on Saturday, November 2 with the quarterfinal round, which will be followed by the semifinals and championship on November 6 and 9, respectively. The winning team will earn the league's automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament. 

Last year, CNU women's soccer authored the finest season in program history with a 21-2-0 overall record and the deepest postseason run in program history. The Captains won a third straight CAC Championship and danced all the way to the NCAA National Semifinals before suffering a season-ending loss to eventual national champion Williams College. The Captains graduated first team All-American Gabby Gillis among four seniors, but the nationally-ranked CNU squad returns ten starters from last year's record-breaking lineup. CNU closed the season with the highest national ranking in program history, picked No. 4 in both polls.