MEMPHIS, Tenn. -- Behind another well-balanced effort on both sides of the ball, the Christopher Newport field hockey team captured its eighth straight victory as the Captains shut out Rhodes, 4-0, during a non-conference battle on Friday afternoon at Mason Field.

Against the Lynx, Abby Asuncion gave the visitors an early 1-0 lead before the offense erupted for three goals in the second half. Marcella Sabbagh found the back of the cage for the third straight game, while Maddison Steele and Vivian Pope iced the victory with fourth-quarter blasts.

Asuncion's strike marked her 10th career game-winning goal, which moved her into a tie with Christopher Newport Hall of Famer Belle Tunstall for the third-most in school history. She also took over sole possession of eighth-place on the program's all-time scoring list with her 82nd career point.

Along with the goal-scorers, Chloe Thompson notched two assists and a defensive save. Brooke Billhimer also added a defensive save, while Lily Kerr chipped in with six stops between the pipes. With her performance, Kerr polished off her sixth shutout of the season, equaling the second-most by a Captain in program history. Only former All-American Bailey Lien registered more shutouts after she blanked seven opponents during the squad's Final Four run in 2013.

With the victory, Christopher Newport improved to 12-3 on the season, while the setback snapped Rhodes' eight-game winning streak and dropped the Lynx to 10-2 overall.

Facing an opponent that entered the contest ranked 13th in the nation in scoring defense, the Captains set the tempo in the early going and controlled possession. Keeping the ball planted on the offensive end, Christopher Newport continued to test Rhodes' defense. Clamping down on a series of clear attempts, Joelie Erwin forced an errant pass with sustained pressure in the middle of the period before Thompson and Lainey Pratzner both added interceptions along the 25.

Unfortunately, the Captains could not quite capitalize on the early momentum as Rhodes held strong on the back line.

Later, following the defensive stand, the Lynx fired back on the other side. Slipping free on a break, the hosts had a pointblank attempt along the right pipe, but Kerr made a sliding stop to stone the shot before Thompson cleared the rebound out of the circle. Shortly thereafter, Billhimer cut off a rally along the left side of the arc before picking off another pass near the top of the zone to help keep the game scoreless after 15 minutes of action.

Continuing to poke at Christopher Newport's defense, Rhodes had several opportunities to break the deadlock early in the second quarter. Once again, the Captains were up to the challenge. Billhimer stunted another run with a tackle on the right side of the zone before the Lynx secured a corner. Holding firm, Alexis Morales applied immediate pressure at the top of the arc before Thompson cleaned up on the inside and rifled the ball out of harm's way.

Just over a minute later, the Captains earned their own corner on the offensive end. Taking advantage of the situation, Emma Logue inserted the ball to Asuncion, who was stationed at the top of the arc. Cutting hard to her right to avoid the flyer, the senior whistled a one-timer into the upper right corner of the cage for the game's opening tally.

Looking to answer, the Lynx tried to even the score but had little success cracking Christopher Newport's stout defensive unit. With four minutes left in the first half, the hosts attempted another corner play, but Morales blocked a rip as the flyer before Billhimer wiped away the rebound on the interior. Later, trying to mount a last-second assault, Rhodes ran headfirst into Billhimer again as the sophomore threw up a roadblock near midfield before spinning past a defender and slamming a long feed up the field to kill off the rally.

Still fostering a slim 1-0 lead, Christopher Newport picked up the pressure after halftime. In the third quarter, the Captains had two quick corner attempts, but rips by Sabbagh and Pope were handled by the defense. Unfazed by the early stumbles, the squad secured another try in the 41st minute.

This time, Thompson inserted the ball to Sabbagh on the left side of the zone. Before the defense could catch up to the play, the fourth-year phenom smashed a screamer that dented the back of the cage and gave the visitors some breathing room with a 2-0 advantage.

Once again, Rhodes tried to mount a response, but Kerr was rock solid on the back side. With four minutes left in the third quarter, the freshman keeper made a sprawling stop along the right pipe to clamp down on a corner. Although the Lynx eventually earned a penalty stroke following that play, Kerr simply added another highlight to her ever-growing reel of defensive domination.

Facing a rip from just seven yards away, Kerr dove to her right and blocked the blast with an acrobatic save to keep Rhodes off the scoreboard entering the fourth quarter.

With little left to prove, Christopher Newport added a fitting punctuation mark to the win with a solid all-around effort in the final stanza. First, on the defensive side, Sabbagh picked off a pair of passes along the defensive 25 to stop two early advances. Later, the Lynx slipped free on a rush with numbers on their side. Tracking down the play, Thompson raced back and prevented an initial shot. Then, Kerr and Billhimer locked down the right post and killed off the ensuing blast to continue the shutout.

Following the defensive highlights, the offense went back to work. In the 56th minute, Katie Abendschoen pumped a rocket into the circle. After the ball bounced out to Gwendolyn Via, the freshman had an attempt turned away by the defense but showed her wits and kept control. Eventually, she shuffled the rebound over to Steele, who knocked home a blast through two defenders for the third strike.

Less than three minutes later, Christopher Newport added the final nail. Off a corner, Thompson found Pope on the left side. Capitalizing on a sliver of daylight, the senior peppered a laser between the keeper and the pipe for her first goal of the year.

Overall, the Captains held a 14-8 advantage in shots and a 15-3 lead in corners.

Christopher Newport will return to action on October 26 when the team travels to No. 3 Salisbury for the Coast-to-Coast Athletic Conference opener at 5 p.m.

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