Live Stats // Video Stream
GLASSBORO, N.J. -- The 16th-ranked Christopher Newport field hockey team will continue postseason action on Saturday at 11 a.m. when the Captains square off with No. 3 Rowan in the second round of the NCAA Tournament at Coach Richard Wackar Stadium in Glassboro, New Jersey.
Christopher Newport enters Saturday with a 15-5 record after knocking off Cabrini in a first-round battle on Wednesday. Meanwhile, Rowan is 19-1 overall and earned a bye in the opening round of the playoffs after winning the New Jersey Athletic Conference Championship last weekend.
The winner of Saturday's game will move on to the Elite Eight, which will take place on Sunday at 1 p.m. The advancing team will meet the survivor of the No. 5 Messiah - No. 6 Tufts match-up, which wraps up Saturday's action at 2 p.m.
Tickets for the game will be $5 for adults and $3 for seniors and students. Children under 2 will be admitted free of charge. Tickets can be purchased at the gate with cash only.
For those fans unable to attend the contest, Rowan will provide live stats and a video stream of the action at RowanAthletics.com. Direct links to both features can be found at the top of this release and on the schedule page.
Christopher Newport reached the second round after upending Cabrini, 3-1, in the squad's opening bout on Wednesday. Against the Cavaliers,
Maddison Steele landed an early strike in the first quarter before
Marcella Sabbagh and
Katie Abendschoen added second-half tallies to lock up the victory.
Sabbagh's blast marked her second career goal in the NCAA Tournament after she converted a penalty stroke against Centre in the 2021 postseason. She is just the sixth player in program history to have multiple tallies in the national playoffs.
Along with Sabbagh,
Abby Asuncion also made some history on Wednesday. The senior All-American assisted on Abendschoen's rocket in the fourth quarter. That marked her 12th assist of the season, tying Kylie Cale for the second-most in school history. She now sits one shy of matching Haylie Black's all-time record of 13 helpers, which the former legend collected in 2006.
Meanwhile, on the defensive side,
Lily Kerr currently ranks second on the program's single-season charts with a 0.58 goals-against-average and fourth with a stellar .850 save percentage. With her performance against Cabrini, she also became just the third freshman goalie in school history to record a victory in the NCAA Tournament, joining Ashley Whipple (2006) and Bailey Lien (2013).
Rowan enters the playoffs on a five-game winning streak, including a 1-0 triumph over No. 15 TCNJ in the NJAC Championship on Saturday. That win marked one of four victories the squad has posted against nationally-ranked programs this season. In addition to two wins over TCNJ, the squad also beat No. 4 Johns Hopkins and No. 14 Kean earlier this year. Additionally, the Profs' only setback came in a 3-2 decision against No. 1 Salisbury on October 19.
During the regular season, Rowan ranked third in the NCAA in goals-per-game (4.90) and 18th in goals-against-average (0.95). On an individual level, Julia Patrone stands 11th in the country in points-per-game (2.90) and 12th in goals-per-contest (1.20). Additionally, Abby Hainsworth is 13th in goals-against-average (0.84).
Saturday's showdown will mark the fourth all-time meeting between the two programs. Rowan currently has a perfect 3-0 record in the series with the last battle taking place in 2011.
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