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SALISBURY, Md. -- The top-seeded Christopher Newport women's soccer team will open play at the Coast-To-Coast Athletic Conference Tournament on Friday morning as they take on hosts and fourth-seeded Salisbury University (6-10-2) at 11:00 am. The Captains (14-0-1) carry a 15-match unbeaten streak into the postseason as one of only six teams left in Division III without a loss this season.
Under the direction of first year head coach
Jamie Gunderson, the Christopher Newport women's soccer team put together one of the most impressive regular seasons in any sport in CNU history. The 15-match unbeaten streak ranks tied for the third longest in program history and included the fifth longest win streak (13). The Captains are ranked No. 5 in the nation according to the United Soccer Coaches Top 25 and sit at No. 4 in the D3soccer.com poll.
CNU will be facing the Sea Gulls for the third time this season after playing them twice in the regular season. After a 4-0 win in the first round against Finlandia, Salisbury enters the semifinal round Friday with a 6-10-2 overall record. In the two contests between Salisbury and CNU earlier, Christopher Newport won 3-0 at Salisbury and 7-1 at CNU.
The game will be the first of two semifinals played at the Salisbury soccer complex and game two will pit UC Santa Cruz against Mary Washington with a berth to the championship game on the line.
Offensive Player of the Year
Riley Cook leads a deep and talented offensive core for the Captains with a league-leading 38 points on 17 goals and four assists. Five players are in double figures with
Sarah Smith,
Emma Ricci,
Molly Beegle, and
Emily Talotta joining Cook at the top of the points leaderboard. Talotta leads the conference in assists, with seven and the quintet has combined for 11 of the Captains' 14 game-winning goals this season.
Defensively, fifth-year goalkeeper
Haley Eiser continues to shine as one of the top netminders in program history. The Richmond, Va. native has allowed a measly four goals in nearly 1,200 minutes between the pipes this season for an unconcsionable 0.30 goals-against average. That mark ranks 11th nationally while an equally impressive .909 save percentage ranks 9th in the country.
Salisbury has scored 23 goals in 18 games this year while holding opponents to a 1.68 goals against average. Leading the offense, Autumn Dougherty has 14 points on six goals and a pair of helpers while rookie Zakiyyah McMillan has added seven points on three goals and one assist to rank second on the team. Emma Hill has done the bulk of the work in goal for Salisbury, posting a 1.74 GAA in 1,450 minutes of play.
For fans unable to make the trip to the Eastern Shore of Maryland, live stats and a live video webcast will be available provided by the Salisbury University Department of Athletics. Links to both can be found at the top of this page and on the women's soccer schedule at CNUsports.com.
