Chicago Press Conference  ||  Christopher Newport Press Conference

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- For the second time in the last three seasons, the Christopher Newport women's soccer team is headed to the National Semifinals. The fifth-ranked Captains (20-0-1) continued it's record-breaking campaign with a 2-1 win over the University of Chicago (15-3-4) in the sectional championship and earned a trip to Greensboro as one of the final four teams competing in 2021.
 
Battling a constant light rain and frigid temperatures did nothing to slow the torrid Christopher Newport attack and the suffocating Captains defense on DiSanto Field at host Case Western Reserve University. With two first-half goals from all-time leading scorer Riley Cook, the Captains pulled away from the Maroons and leaned on another strong outing from the tough back line to secure the 2-1 win. 

Cook put the Captains on the board early, forcing Chicago to play from behind for the duration of the match. After a Maroons' corner kick was cleared by the CNU defense, Riley Cook showed her veteran savvy by cutting off a pass between the last two defenders around midfield for a long breakaway. With no one but the keeper in front of her, she chose to play a ball to Jessica Zimmermann on the outside in the two-on-one situation. As the defenders tried to track back, Zimmerman centered the pass back to Cook for the short-range goal.

The first tally of the match came just under five minutes into the bout and was Cook's fifth goal of the NCAA Tournament. Zimmermann notched the fourth assist of her campaign with the give back to her senior leader. 
 
The Maroons put together some quality chances against the Captains defense in the first half, but Haley Eiser was up to the task, making a pair of saves in the middle of the period and stopping four overall in the first 45 minutes. Re Slater made several clutch plays in the first half, including stepping in front of a would-be clear look from Alaina Araujo-Elorza from just outside of the box. Slater sprinted up and turned to eliminate the threat with the blocked shot. 

The second goal of the match came with exactly five minutes left in the first half on a free kick from just outside the box. The Maroons stopped the first shot by Cook, but a fortuitous bounce landed right back to her feet and she made sure it paid off by unleashing a ferocious blast into the left side of the goal. 

The 88th score of her career proved imperative as Chicago scored a late goal for the final score of 2-1. It held up as the 33rd game-winning strike of her career, tying the NCAA all divisions record for both men's and women's soccer set by Nicci Bermudes (Aurora) from 2012-15. 

With about 13 minutes remaining in regulation, the Captains nearly added another goal but the Chicago goalkeeper Miranda Malone stopped a pair of Cook attempts from point blank range and then made another diving stop on a rebound effort from Ryanne Davidson. The Maroons sent everything forward in the final ten minutes as they looked to save their season. With just three minutes left, they added a little hope with a goal off a corner kick by Adriana Shutler. Annie Mitchell put away the score to cut the lead in half, but there was just not enough time left against the stingy Captains defense. 

The goal allowed was the first since the last game of the regular season in a 5-1 win against Lynchburg. The shutout streak, which spanned two conference tournament games and nearly four full NCAA tournament matchups, is the third longest in program history. Led by the efforts of Eiser in goal, who has surrendered only five goals this season, and the back line of Slater, Jill McDonald, Nyah Savage, and Sarah Rhiel, the Captains have 14 shutouts this season. With only seven goals allowed through 21 games, the team has a 0.33 goals-against average headed into the finals site. 

Yet to lose a game in the career of second-year head coach Jamie Gunderson, the Captains also set a new program record for most games without a loss, running the team's unbeaten streak to 21 games. The senior class is returning to the finals site for the second time in their career, becoming the first women's soccer class and one of only five classes in the history of CNU Athletics to reach the national semifinals more than once in their career. They join baseball (2002, 2003), softball (2010, 2011), volleyball (2011, 2012), and men's basketball (2016, 2019). 

The Captains will take on ninth-ranked Loras College (21-0-2) in the national semifinals at 11:00 a.m. on Friday, December 3 in the first of four semifinal games played at the NCAA Division III Men's and Women's Soccer Championships. Stay tuned to CNUsports.com for updates on tickets, game information, and more.