FREDERICKSBURG, Va. -- Following an impressive start to the season, Mauri Ware has been named the Capital Athletic Conference Offensive Player of the Week after pacing the 16th-ranked Christopher Newport field hockey team during a pair of top-10 showdowns in Pennsylvania over the weekend.

In her first two appearances with the Captains, Ware scored a goal in both contests after connecting on two of her six shots during the week. She also served as the primary inserter on penalty corners while helping Christopher Newport split its nationally-ranked battles.

Kicking things off on Friday at No. 4 Messiah, Ware collected her first collegiate goal on a corner in the 29th minute. Cutting Christopher Newport's deficit in half, the sophomore banged home a rebound after an initial shot was kicked aside by the Falcons' goalkeeper. 

With that strike, Ware became just the 10th underclassman in program history to register a goal against a top-5 opponent, joining a Who's-Who list of legendary Captains including current teammate Rachel Cooke, two-time All-American Belle Tunstall, and longtime standouts Kelly Jo Broadhurst and Taylor Harrell.

Two days later, Ware returned to the field with the lone strike in a 1-0 victory over No. 9 Rochester on Sunday. During a neutral-site battle at the Spooky Nook Sports Complex, she broke a scoreless deadlock early in the second half. After another penalty corner in the 37th minute, Ware followed the same script that worked against Messiah as she collected a rebound off an initial shot and blasted the ricochet into the back of the cage.

Making history with her two tallies, Ware became just the fourth Captain to record a goal in back-to-back contests against nationally-ranked competition. The speedy sophomore added her name to the historic list alongside current teammate Jackie Kotoriy, All-Region star Lauren Cheatham, and Christopher Newport Athletics Hall of Famer Caitlin Cahill.

Only the fourth player to record a goal during each of her first two games with the program, Ware was a starter at Division I Lehigh University in 2018 before arriving in Newport News. A local legend, she was a perennial All-State selection during her high school days at nearby Hampton Roads Academy.

Ware and the rest of her teammates will return to action on Friday when Christopher Newport opens its new stadium with a non-conference battle against DePauw at 6 p.m.

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