NEWPORT NEWS, Va. -- The Christopher Newport women's soccer team will host seven home games and will trek across the country to take on a pair of programs in California as part of a 16-game regular season schedule this Fall. The Captains open the 2021 slate on the road against Methodist University on Wednesday, September 1. 

The season opener will kick off a three-game start away from the home field as CNU takes on Emerson College and Catholic University in neutral site action on September 4-5. The first home game comes next as Christopher Newport will welcome Virginia Wesleyan on Wednesday, September 8 at 7:30 pm. 

Four straight games will be played at Captains Field as CNU will then take on 2019 NCAA Tournament participant Centre College on the morning of September 11 followed by a Sunday afternoon matinee against Pfeiffer University. Wrapping up the four-match homestand is a matchup against the Roanoke College Maroons on September 15. 

In addition to Centre, the Captains will face four more NCAA Tournament participants from the 2019 version of the championship. That group includes three straight starting on September 20 as CNU travels to Randolph-Macon College; the Yellow Jackets reached the second round with a 2-0 win over Haverford. Next up, the Captains will fly to the Golden State for a pair of highly-anticipated matchups against tournament teams. The first will come against fellow Coast-to-Coast Athletic Conference foe UC Santa Cruz on September 24 at Noon and the second versus Cal Lutheran on September 25 at 2:00 pm. 

It will be the first ever matchup against the Banana Slugs and the second against the Regals of Cal Lutheran. When the team returns to the East Coast, conference play will commence as CNU travels to Salisbury and Mary Washington on October 6 and 16, respectively. The regular season slate will come to a close with three of four games played at home. On October 20, Salisbury returns their conference home-and-home before the final road game of the year against Piedmont on October 24.  Mary Washington makes their trip to Newport News on October 27 for the penultimate game of the schedule before the Captains host regional rival Lynchburg on October 30. 

The Coast-To-Coast Athletic Conference Championship Tournament will be held on the campus of Salisbury University starting November 4. The three-day event will feature all the women's soccer programs in the league in a single elimination format crowning conference champions on November 6. 

The Captains will return to the field for the first time since the 2019 campaign that saw Christopher Newport go 16-3-3 and reacht he second round of the NCAA Tournament. That squad was led by first team All-American Riley Cook who will return for her final season in 2021. Also back from the 2019 starting lineup are goalkeeper Haley Eiser, forwards Emily Talotta and Molly Beegle, and midfielders Abby Harrigan and Jessica Zimmermann. On the defensive line, Jill McDonald returns after making six starts her first season. Sarah Rhiel saw action in 19 games while Victoria Partin, Hannah Karas, and Abby Pogreba each made significant contributions appearing in 10 games or more. 

CNU will be playing under first year head coach Jamie Gunderson, who took the reins of the program 14 months prior to the Captains first game this Fall. Christopher Newport has reached four consecutive NCAA Tournaments and 12 in program history.