Live Stats // Video Stream
NEWPORT NEWS, Va. -- Although Saturday's regularly-scheduled showdown with Concordia (Wisc.) has been canceled, the Christopher Newport field hockey team will remain in action this weekend as the Captains added a non-conference bout against Eastern Mennonite on Sunday at 2 p.m. at the EMU Turf Field.
Christopher Newport enters the weekend with a 4-4 record. Meanwhile, Eastern Mennonite is 6-2 overall, including 5-0 at home. The Royals will host Sweet Briar in a Friday night contest before welcoming the Captains to town on Sunday.
Christopher Newport was last in action on September 25 when the squad took down St. Mary's (Md.), 4-0, at Jennings Family Stadium. Flashing a well-balanced arsenal, the squad picked up goals from
Vivian Pope,
Katie Abendschoen,
Lainey Pratzner, and
Chloe Thompson. Equally effective on the other side of the field,
Gabi Gray registered six saves while recording the shutout. For that performance, the junior goalie was honored as the Coast-to-Coast Athletic Conference Defensive Player of the Week.
Overall this season,
Abby Asuncion ranks in the top-30 nationally in both goals-per-game (1.12) and points-per-game (2.50). She is also tied for the conference-lead with nine total strikes. Additionally,
Mauri Ware is fourth in the league with 13 points and five goals, while she, Pope, and
Marcella Sabbagh are all tied for third with three assists.
Eastern Mennonite is currently on a four-game winning streak entering Friday night's showdown with Sweet Briar. The Royals rank 11th in the NCAA in goals-per-game with a 4.25 average, including a 10-0 win over Southern Virginia last week. Equally impressive on the defensive side, EMU already has four shutouts this season, which ranks as the ninth-highest total in the country.
On an individual level, Skylar Hedgepeth has 13 assists this season, which stands second in the NCAA. Meanwhile, Brandy Troutman sits ninth in the nation with four defensive saves. Among the squad's other statistical leaders, Morgan Leslie and Elizabeth Longacre have nine goals apiece, while Ann Ghally has a .766 save percentage and 1.83 goals-against-average.
In nine previous meetings between the two programs, Christopher Newport holds a 9-0 edge in the series. The teams last met in 2014 with the Captains securing a 4-3 win in Harrisonburg.
Following this weekend's action, Christopher Newport will return home on October 9 for an 11 a.m. test against Rhodes.
---ISH---
