IWLCA Coaches Poll
Live Stats // Video Stream
RALEIGH, N.C. -- For the second straight week, the Christopher Newport women's lacrosse team was ranked 20th in the IWLCA National Coaches Poll as the Captains prepare for their regular season finale on Tuesday at Meredith.
Christopher Newport earned 129 points in the latest poll, which slotted the squad just a few spots ahead of two conference rivals. St. Mary's (Md.) remained 22nd in the rankings, while Mary Washington slipped to 23rd. Meanwhile, Salisbury continued to hold down the No. 4 position in the national rankings.
Currently, the Captains sit at 9-6 on the season, including 4-4 in road action. Meanwhile, Meredith is 9-2 overall and 6-0 at home.
Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, Meredith will not allow visiting fans to attend home games during the spring semester. However, the Avenging Angels will provide live stats and a video stream of the action at GoAvengingAngels.com. Direct links to both features can be found at the top of this release and on the schedule page.
Incredibly, Tuesday's tilt will mark Christopher Newport's ninth regular season road game of the year. That equals the most by the Captains since 2006. Taking care of business away from Newport News,
Cat Leighty has scored in every road game this year while boasting a team-high 24 strikes in those outings.
Gracie Sanders also has at least one point in all eight road games during the 2021 campaign.
Among other standouts on the road this year,
Kelsey Winters has a team-high 23 assists away from Newport News, while
Sam Wettengel has 12 caused turnovers and 36 draws in those battles. Additionally, freshman
Paige Williams has been a revelation on the road. The first-year contributor has five points, including four goals this season. All of them have come in away games, while she also made her first collegiate start on Saturday in a win at Moravian.
Overall this season, Leighty leads the Coast-to-Coast Conference with 41 total goals, while Dyer sits second with 40. Together, they are the first pair of teammates with 40-goal efforts since All-American
Sarah Culver and current assistant coach
Colleen Bourgal both eclipsed that total in 2018.
Meanwhile, on the defensive end,
Becca Creekmore has compiled a league-high 113 saves, while Wettengel has a conference-leading 23 takeaways. Sanders also ranks second in the league with 22 caused turnovers, and
Kendall Krause is third with 31 ground balls.
On the other side of the field, Meredith has been an offensive juggernaut in 2021. The Avenging Angels currently rank sixth in the NCAA in scoring offense with a stellar 19.27 goals-per-game average. The squad has eclipsed 20 goals on seven occasions this season, including a 24-2 victory over Methodist last Wednesday.
On an individual level, Maya Flake ranks fifth in the NCAA with 41 assists, while Lilia Cruz is 10th with 46 goals. Flake, Cruz, and Olivia Blake all stand in the top-20 in total points as well, while Cruz also ranks among the national-leaders with 79 draw controls. Meanwhile, defensively, Joy Deitrich has a .474 save percentage and a 9.77 goals-against-average during her time in the crease.
Tuesday's tilt will be the fourth all-time meeting between Christopher Newport and Meredith. The Avenging Angels won the most recent battle, 20-14, in Newport News. Wettengel had a hat-trick for the Captains during that game, while Cruz notched 12 points, including nine goals, for the visitors.
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