While Christopher Newport looks forward to the return of intercollegiate competitions, our friends at TowneBank are partnering with CNUsports.com to spend some time throughout the fall semester looking back at a few of the more memorable moments in the storied history of the athletic department. Over the course of the next three months, the Captains will honor the anniversary of three dozen record-setting accomplishments, championship-clinching victories, and other historic events in order to celebrate the past while preparing for even more great moments in the future.
 
AT A GLANCE
 
With the rise to becoming a national power in its infancy under the direction of head coach Dan Weiler, the Christopher Newport women's soccer team authored a marquee victory in the unraveling story on October 18, 2015. In his third season on the job, Weiler had ratcheted up the difficulty of the schedule and while the team had already reached the NCAA Tournament in back-to-back seasons, the squad was still looking for evidence that they truly belonged on the national stage. Then it came. That evidence came in the form of a galvanizing and thrilling overtime win against a formidable foe: the defending national champion and 4^th-ranked Lynchburg College Hornets.
 
BACKSTORY
When Dan Weiler was hired to take over the CNU women's soccer program in 2013, the Captains had missed the postseason in consecutive seasons and finished just over .500 in back-to-back years. From the outset, the new helmsman pivoted the Captains for success and sought to elevate the program from a perennial first-round exit in the NCAA Tournament to one of the nation's most elite programs.
 
The 2015 season was Weiler's third which meant his recruiting classes served as a majority of the roster. He brought in 22 first- or second-year players and of that group, more than half of his starting lineup was formed for the 2015 season. That included rookie sensation Gabby Gillis, who would play a pivotal role in the Captains lineup throughout her career as the most decorated Captain in program history.
 
After guiding the Captains back to the NCAA Tournament in his first two years, he pieced together a challenging schedule that included three of the last eight teams standing from the 2014 tournament in Chicago, Wheaton (Ill.) and Lynchburg. After dropping the first two in a pair of close games on the road, the Captains rallied to win five straight heading into the matchup with the Hornets.
 
Despite taking on the in-state non-conference rival during the regular season, the matchup held the anticipatory weight of postseason billing.
 
ABOUT THE OPPOSITION
Defending national champions.
 
Not only was Lynchburg crowned national champion in 2014, but the fashion in which the Hornets blitzed Division III women's soccer that season was nearly unprecedented. Lynchburg posted a 26-0-2 record, ranking as the second most wins in Division III history while featuring one of the most well-rounded teams in the entire history of NCAA women's soccer. In 28 games, Lynchburg allowed just five goals for a 0.17 goals-against average while at the same time the offensive unit scored 122 goals for an average of 4.4 goals per game. They became the first team at any level of soccer to post single season marks in the top-15 of the NCAA record book for both total goals scored and goals-against average since 1997 when Division I powerhouse North Carolina accomplished the same feat.
 
Prior to the 2015 season, the Hornets had advanced to 15 of the last 18 NCAA Tournaments with seven trips to the second weekend of action. Needless to say, the powerhouse program was a big target for the unranked and relatively untested Captains.
 
Christopher Newport came in at 10-3-1 overall while LC was 15-1-0. The unranked CNU squad was taking on a Hornets roster ranked No. 4 in the nation and had never toppled a program ranked higher than 10^th. Unbeaten in 60 of their previous 62 games, the Hornets posed a Goliathan threat.
 
GAME RECAP
Playing at twilight to start a rare Sunday night affair at Captains Field, the two teams took the pitch on a beautiful, crisp evening. Weather would not play a factor in what turned out to be a highly-competitive and entertaining bout between two regionally-ranked opponents. In the contest, the Captains would fall behind twice against the defending national champions, but erased the lead both times to set up heroics in the first overtime.
 
Right out of the gate, Lynchburg asserted itself with one of the fastest goals of the year, scoring just 30 second into the game. Morgan Singer made a broken play count to give the Hornets a 1-0 lead. After the early tally, CNU pushed back. The Hornets star goalkeeper, Tess Frelick, was forced to make what was, at the time, a career-high six saves in the contest as the Captains offense pressured her with nine shots on goal. The first equalizer would not come until the 34^th minute when Lindsay Mondloch launched a perfect cross off a corner kick into the box where Gillis connected on a gorgeous header to tie the game at one.
 
Lynchburg nearly took a 2-1 lead into the halftime period but for a spectacular save from sophomore goalkeeper Carly Maglio. A long attempt by Elizabeth Oden to try and beat the clock was destined for the twine before Maglio back-pedaled, leaped and punched the ball into the crossbar to evade disaster.
 
In the second half, the Hornets once again took a one-goal lead in the 59^th minute when Emily Maxwell connected on a header that mirrored Gillis' first half score. The lead wouldn't hold long this time as CNU combined passes on another game-tying strike just five minutes later. Danielle Pratt found Victoria Perry streaking toward the goal line on a throw-in and Perry, the all-time leader in assists at the end of her career, centered a ball into the box. Freshman Kayla Locklear then drilled home the biggest goal of her life when she bent a shot around her defender into the left side of the goal.
 
The goal was significant. It was the first time in 44 games the Lynchburg defense, led by Maxwell, a three-time All-American, had given up more than one score in a game. Not only a historical marker, it was also significant in the moment as it sparked the Captains offense back to life.  
 
Not bowing to the pressure of playing such a formidable opponent, the Captains continued to raise the level as the match went along. Particularly in goal where Maglio had a sensational second half – in the 86^th minute, Maglio was forced to make a highlight-reel diving save to her right with fully outstretched arms on a would-be game-winning goal. The shot came off the foot of Jade Woll, who would go on to garner All-American accolades in 2015, and Maglio's stop forced the ball to glance off the goalpost and out of the net.  
 
The ninth save of the night kept CNU in the ball game and into extra time against the Hornets. Just over two minutes into the OT period, it was again Danielle Pratt who started the winning play with a throw-in. She found Perry down the right side and the Purcellville, Va. native turned on the jets toward the goal line again. This time, she sent a low pass to the middle where junior Allie McWilliams got a soft touch past two more defenders where Gillis was free on the left. She got to the ball first and smashed a shot off the inside of her right foot past the diving Frelick.
 
The freshman's second goal the winner, Christopher Newport was sent into a dizzying frenzy of celebration. Prior to the three-goal outburst by the Captains, Lynchburg had only allowed three total goals in 16 games during the season. It was also the first time the Hornets had lost in overtime since 2011, ending a stretch of 12 unbeaten matchups.

The win was the first against a nationally-ranked opponent since 2007 and only the fifth ever against a team ranked by the coaches' association. At No. 4 nationally, it was, and remains to this day, the highest-ranked team the Captains have ever defeated. 
 
POSTSCRIPT
As if pulled together by Gillis' right foot, the team would find their identity that night. There were no more questions as to whether or not the Captains could compete at the highest level. Gillis took the reins as team leader and would go on to post a no-doubt Hall of Fame career as the first ever first-team All-American for the Captains.
 
The season would close just over two weeks later but not before the Captains bought in. Moving into the 2016 campaign, expectations would be high and the target hung squarely on their backs. Behind Gillis' excellence and the Captains' well-balanced roster, the team would log three consecutive record-breaking seasons.
 
First up, a 17-win campaign that saw Weiler's squad capture the team's first conference championship since 2010. Then, a record-shattering 19-1-1 season in 2017 that included a perfect 9-0 run through conference play. Finally, a benchmark 2018 season that saw Christopher Newport dance all the way to the NCAA National Semifinals for the first time, finishing with a 21-2-0 overall record.
 
The Captains were no longer on the outside looking in. The overtime thriller sent them on the path to becoming one of the most dangerous teams in Division III soccer for the next four years. Including the win streak that featured that Lynchburg victory, CNU won 66 of 76 straight games with a winning percentage of 88.2% (66-8-2).
 
For a full listing of the fall 2020 features published to date, click here.