GREENSBORO, N.C. -- The fourth-ranked Christopher Newport women's soccer team will travel to Greensboro, N.C. this weekend to take on Piedmont College (10-3-3) in a neutral site matchup at 3:00 p.m. The Captains (12-0-0) have just three games left in the regular season with Sunday's tilt being the final match away from home.
CNU has only faced the Piedmont Lions once with the head-to-head showing coming in conference play during the 2012 campaign. The Captains' final year in the USA South Athletic Conference saw them travel to Demorest, Ga. to take on Piedmont on their home field. Led by two goals from Annemarie Weaver, the CNU women's soccer team won the only pairing between the two teams, 2-0. Dani Gunderson, sister of current head coach
Jamie Gunderson, assisted on the game's first tally.
This season, the Captains have been as dominant as ever, winning nine of their 12 games by more than one goal. Christopher Newport is one of only two teams left in Division III without a loss or a tie to their record, posting a program record 12 straight wins to start the year. Leading the way, a nearly impregnable defense has allowed just four goals in 12 games this season for a 0.332 goals-against average, ranking 10th in the nation. Offensively, the Captains rank 22nd overall, scoring 3.33 goals per contest.
Emily Talotta is coming off a 5-point performance to lead Christopher Newport in a 7-1 win against Salisbury on Wednesday night. The second-year transfer player has quickly climbed into the conversation as one of the best facilitators in program history. She currently ranks in the top-40 nationally in assists per game this season, averaging one every two games, but has also moved into the top spot in program history with a 0.53 per game average in her first 34 games overall. She has 18 career helpers and has moved into the top-10 all-time in fewer games than any of the other players on the chart.
On defense, the Captains have given up only three goals in the run of play while adding a penalty kick allowed for just four total scores surrendered.
Jill McDonald leads the team in minutes with 905 out of a possible 947 (95.6%) while
Sarah Rhiel has logged 904 and
Nyah Savage 865 to help lead the dominant defense. Rookie
Re Slater and junior
Hannah Karas have also been staples in the back as the Captains D has blanketed opponents and allowed just 5.7 shots per game.
Meanwhile, the CNU offense has attempted four times as many shots with 273 attempts and 40 goals scored this year. Eight Captains have scored multiple goals this season as the team is averaging 9.08 points per game, ranking sixth best in program history.
Piedmont will attempt to answer the Captains with a tough defense of their own, holding opponents to a 0.70 GAA with nine shutouts in 16 games played this season. Laila Allen has started 11 games in net for the Lions with an 8-0-1 record and a 0.868 saver percentage thus far. Offensively, Kaylee King provides the spark with 10 points on three goals and four assists while Gabbie Hayes has added three goals and one assist, primarily off the bench.
Live stats will be available at www.cnusports.com/sidearmstats/wsoc
Following the non-conference neutral site matchup, the Captains will return home to host Mary Washington on Wednesday, October 27.
