Manheim, Pa. - For the second time in as many games, Mauri Ware found the back of the cage, while Olivia Davis anchored a suffocating defensive effort as the 16th-ranked Christopher Newport field hockey team toppled No. 9 Rochester, 1-0, on a cloud-covered Sunday afternoon at the Spooky Nook Sports Complex.
 
Following a scoreless first half, Ware broke through with the game's lone goal in the 37th minute. Coupled with her strike against No. 4 Messiah in the season opener on Friday, Ware became just the fourth Captain in program history to score in back-to-back games against nationally-ranked competition. Current teammate Jackie Kotoriy was the last player to accomplish that feat after depositing darts against No. 6 Salisbury and No. 8 Kean in 2017. Legendary Captain Lauren Cheatham (vs. No. 13 Lynchburg and No. 11 DePauw in 2013) and Christopher Newport Athletics Hall of Famer Caitlin Cahill (vs. No. 20 Johns Hopkins and No. 18 Mary Washington in 2011) were the only other players to accomplish that feat.
 
Along with Ware's heroics, Davis was a wall between the pipes. The senior put together a brilliant performance while notching 10 saves to silence the high-powered Rochester attack. With that showcase, she joined Stephanie McKinney as the only goalies in program history to blank a top-10 opponent. McKinney shut out No. 3 Salisbury in 2017.
 
Overall, Sunday's win marked the first time the Captains knocked off a top-10 opponent in a non-conference tilt since 2012. Putting that into perspective, the last such win came against current league foe Mary Washington, who was a non-conference opponent back then. Additionally, the game-winning goal in that contest was registered by current assistant coach Marlene Lichty, who was piecing together an All-American junior campaign seven years ago.
 
With the victory, Christopher Newport improves to 1-1 on the season. The setback drops Rochester to 1-1.
 
After the two teams entered halftime engaged in a scoreless draw, the Captains exited the break looking to strike first. Pounding away at the Yellowjacket defense, Christopher Newport earned a pair of early corners. Unfortunately, Rochester's keeper stoned on-target rips by Ware, Kotoriy, and Sarah Mueller, while a UR defender made a sprawling stop to prevent an attempt by Courtney Fiest from slipping across the line.
 
Looking to retaliate, shortly after the second corner, Rochester slipped free on a two-on-one breakaway. With the Captains staring at an odd-man rush, freshman Abby Asuncion showed off her wheels. The first-year star stormed up the turf, caught up to the play from behind, and dislodged the ball to prevent the opposition from even attempting a shot.
 
After surviving their first scare of the second half, the Captains went back to work on the offensive end. In the 37th minute, the squad earned another corner. Although UR's goalie brushed aside the first rip with a diving save, Ware was there to clean up the rebound. After the ball shot out to the right side of the cage, the sophomore collected the ricochet and pounded it home to give the team a 1-0 edge.
 
Facing their first deficit of the year, the Yellowjackets tried to answer with a valiant assault. First, the opposition slipped out on another two-on-one break, but Rachel Cooke raced back to end the threat. Later, Davis shrugged off four straight on-target attempts, including back-to-back tracers during a rapid-fire attack.
 
With time running down in the third quarter, Rochester earned a corner in the 43rd minute. Sealing off the right side of the cage, Davis made a diving stop to thwart the initial attempt. After the ball squirted out, another Yellowjacket collected the roller and tried to find an opening on the left side, but Bailey Miller made a game-saving defensive stop to keep the one-goal advantage.
 
Less than two minutes later, as time expired on the period, UR earned two more corners, but Fiest took care of the rest. Kicking things off, the junior All-American made a tackle in the center of the zone to help wipe away the first. On the second try, she came out to the top of the circle and jabbed away the pass just as the horn sounded.
 
Picking up right where they left off in the fourth stanza, Rochester kicked off the new period with another corner, but once again, Davis was up to the challenge with her 10th save of the contest.
 
Looking to snatch back some momentum, Christopher Newport gained possession and marched up the field. Working on the clock, the team earned two corners during the middle of the period and started cutting off crucial seconds. Kotoriy also made a huge tackle to prevent a clear during the middle of that rally, while Mueller and Kennedy Johnson slammed the door on two other runs to keep the ball on the offensive end.
 
Although the Yellowjackets eventually managed to work their way down the field for a brief moment, one of their shots scooted wide, while the other one clanked off the post.
 
With time becoming a friend, Christopher Newport regained possession and whittled down the clock. Cooke was a force over the last few minutes as the senior midfielder made a tackle on the right side of the field before teaming up with Kotoriy on another stop on the near side. Later, Marcella Sabbagh picked off a roller near the circle, Johnson grabbed a loose ball, and Fiest knocked down a bouncer and scurried over to the sideline to run off the remaining seconds to ice the victory.
 
Along with Davis' efforts in the cage, the defense was magnificent all over the field. Sabbagh was especially effective on the back line and showed her toughness when she returned to the game after taking a shot to the head that forced her to leave late in the third quarter. Meanwhile, Cooke and Johnson helped anchor the veteran portion of the defensive unit. Fittingly, the two senior stars were also key contributors in the program's only other shutout against a top-10 foe after starting in the team's 1-0 win against No. 3 Salisbury in 2017.
 
Long before the Captains walked away victorious, the squad engaged in a back-and-forth slugfest for the first 30 minutes. Rochester had the first clean look in the eighth minute, but the initial shot connected with the post. Although the ball bounced out to a Yellowjacket, Mueller blocked off the ensuing attempt before another shot could be taken.
 
Two minutes later, UR burst back into the circle on a breakaway, but Davis made an acrobatic stop with a diving save to close off the cage.
 
Attempting to respond, Asuncion had a great opportunity on the other end. The freshman saved a ball from leaving the circle, whipped around, and laced a screamer, but the Rochester goalie kicked it away at the last second to end Christopher Newport's best opportunity in the first quarter.
 
In the second period, Cooke cut off a centering feed early in the stanza before jumpstarting a run the other way. Scurrying up the field, Asuncion cleared some space for Emma Logue, who collected the pass and hammered from the near side. Unfortunately, the UR goalie made another diving stop to keep the game scoreless.
 
Following the offensive showcase, the Christopher Newport defense had to step up during the latter part of the second period. The Yellowjackets earned their first corner of the game, but Fiest bolted out of the cage and deflected the bullet. Although Rochester managed to regain possession, Davis hit the turf and swallowed a pair of shots from pointblank range along the left post to end the threat.
 
Later, with the Captains playing shorthanded after the squad was hit with a green card, Nyla Lewis disrupted a ball deep into the circle. Minutes later, in the final few moments of the opening half, Sabbagh ripped possession away from a Yellowjacket attacker in the defensive end to keep the game knotted at zero entering halftime.
 
Fortunately, over the final 30 minutes, Christopher Newport's defense remained airtight and Ware was able to light up the scoreboard to lead the squad to victory.
 
Overall, both teams unloaded 19 shots during the game, while Rochester led the way in penalty corners, 8-7.
 
The Captains will return to action on Friday when the squad christens its new stadium during the home opener against DePauw at 6 p.m.
 
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