While Christopher Newport looks forward to the return of intercollegiate competitions, CNUSports.com will 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 more great moments in the future.
 
AT A GLANCE
For the first 15 years of the sport at Christopher Newport, a bevy of players helped build the framework for what would become one of the top destinations in Division III women's soccer. Names like Division I transfer and All-American Natalie Stallings, Hall of Famers Ashleigh Dota, Sam Ciaravino and conference player of the year winners Emily Renkin and Emily Chesbro headlined the Captains offense for years. In 2010, though, Captains Field welcomed the first of three record-breaking attackers that would shatter the record books over the next decade of women's soccer at CNU. On September 11, 2013, senior Emma O'Reilly surpassed Dota's all-time scoring record with a pair of first-half goals against cross-water rival Virginia Wesleyan, earning the Captains their first win over the regional power in over a decade.
 
BACKSTORY
O'Reilly was recruited to Newport News out of Northern Virginia by head coach Ruth Keegan and made an immediate impact on the offensive unit. In her first year, she scored four goals in the conference tournament including the championship-clinching goal in the USA South Athletic Conference title game and secured conference tournament MVP honors. Her 26-point rookie campaign still ranks third all-time at Christopher Newport and put the newcomer on a record-setting pace after just one year.
 
After a down season for the team and O'Reilly in 2011, her pace fell just behind record-holder Ashleigh Dota who sat atop the leaderboard with 88 career points. The Captains scored just 47 goals marking the fewest since the 2001 campaign. But a resurgent third season followed by her record-breaking campaign under first-year head coach Dan Weiler in 2013 would assert O'Reilly as the most proficient goal scorer in program history.
 
Determined to bounce back during her junior season, O'Reilly put together one of the finest single season scoring efforts ever for Christopher Newport when she tied the record for goals scored in a year with 18. She tied Ciaravino's 2010 mark as the duo were the only Captains to have sole possession of the lead league in goals scored since Stallings in 2002. The 18-goal record would also hold up as the single season mark until Riley Cook took over the record in 2018.
 
With 79 points after her first three seasons, Dota's record was well within reach again. O'Reilly would need just nine points to etch her name atop the record books. In the first game of the season, she set aside one record as she became the all-time leader in goals scored. Then, in game five, O'Reilly and the Captains faced Virginia Wesleyan for the fourth time in her career with a chance at glory.
 
OPPOSITION RESEARCH
Prior to 2012 and the arrival of head coach Dan Weiler, Virginia Wesleyan had, quite simply, dominated the series against the Captains. Since the Captains last win over the Marlins in 2002, the cross-water rivals had gone unbeaten in 12 matchups with a 10-0-2 mark favoring VWC. In that stretch, head coach Jeff Bowers lifted the Marlins into nine of ten NCAA Tournaments including a run to the Division III National Semifinals in 2006. In 2003, Bowers and the Marlins won 20 games and picked up a pair of NCAA Tournament wins in the team's first ever appearance.
 
The marquee moment for O'Reilly in 2013 would not only be an historic memory for her individually, it would also flip the script in the all-time series for Christopher Newport against Virginia Wesleyan. With Weiler at the helm, the Captains have lost just once to the Marlins while ripping off a 4-1-3 record in eight matchups.

GAME RECAP
In the three previous matchups against the Marlins, O'Reilly had never won, going 0-2-1 with a 6-1 deficit in goals scored. In fact, unlike most teams the Captains faced every season, O'Reilly had never even scored against the tough opponent. The senior faced 19 different programs more than once in her career and O'Reilly was kept off the scoreboard against only five of them. That would change quickly against the Marlins in her senior season as the Fairfax, Va. native ripped home the first goal just under eight minutes into the match.

All-Region midfielder Joy Piirto set up the shot from the right side of the box when she played O'Reilly for the attempt, which rocketed past the sliding goalkeeper for the score. The Captains would go on to shutout the Marlins, so her first goal would serve as the game-winning goal. Just under 15 minutes later, she would tack on the insurance tally and the Captains bench erupted in celebration for their senior team captain. Facing the goalkeeper in a one-on-one opportunity, O'Reilly chipped the keeper with a cheeky chance for her 42^nd career goal and record-breaking 89^th career point.
 
Christopher Newport closed out the win, 2-0, improving to 3-1-1 on the season and
 
POSTSCRIPT
Dota's record stood for 154 games from the close of the 2005 season to the early portion of the 2013 campaign. O'Reilly's reign would not stand nearly as long. She set the stage for a decade of dominating offense from the Captains led by Victoria Perry and Riley Cook, who each would supplant O'Reilly as the team's all-time leading scorer during their tenure.
 
Records are made to be broken and her successes moved the target over the century mark for the first time in program history. O'Reilly's precedent-setting tenure would see her close her career as the first player in program history to eclipse 100-career points when she surpassed the mark against Southern Virginia later in the season. After 82 games of action, O'Reilly finished with 103 points on 47 career goals and nine assists.
 
While Perry passed her points record within four years, O'Reilly held onto the goals record until 2019. She remains one of only six soccer players, men's or women's, at Christopher Newport to score 40 or more goals in her career and ranks fifth all-time in CNU history:
   
O'Reilly would earn first team All-Conference honors in both her junior and senior seasons and was a four-time All-Conference selection. She earned VaSID All-State honors three out of four seasons and helped guide the Captains to a pair of NCAA Tournament appearances. With O'Reilly leading the offense, the Captains won three regular season conference titles and one conference tournament championship.  


For a full listing of the fall 2020 features published to date, click here.