NEWPORT NEWS, Va. -- The top-seeded Christopher Newport women's soccer team will open postseason action on Friday, November 4 as they play host to the Coast-To-Coast Athletic Conference Tournament Semifinals starting at 4:00 p.m. against #4-seed Salisbury University (9-8-4). The second semifinal will feature #2 UC Santa Cruz against #3 Mary Washington at 7:00 p.m. 

Coming into the conference tournament as defending champions, the Captains are undefeated with an overall record of 14-0-2. The third-ranked CNU squad will be taking on a foe of whom they are very familiar, having played the Sea Gulls in two of last four games in the season with a 2-0 win on the road and a 1-1 draw in the finale last Saturday night. 

The all-time series favors the Captains, 18-6-4, and it will be the fourth time the two teams have battled in the conference tournament semifinal round. CNU advanced to the title game with victories over the Sea Gulls in 2013 with a 3-1 win, in 2018 with a 3-0 win, and last season with a 2-0 win. With the draw last weekend, the Sea Gulls became only the third team to earn a result other than a loss against the Captains since the start of the 2021 campaign when Christopher Newport began a record-breaking 39-match unbeaten streak (36-0-3). 

On Thursday, Salisbury earned a quarterfinals victory against Pratt Institute by a final score of 11-0. Kristen Ging led the way with two goals and an assist while Kasey Lamb picked up the gamewinner less than a minute into the contest. The Sea Gulls improved to 9-8-4 with the win. 

Ahead of the semifinal matchup on Friday, the C2C All-Conference awards were announce listing eight CNU players among those honored. Three first team All-League selections were leading scorer Sarah Smith, midfielder Ellie Cox, and center back Jill McDonald. Joining them on the second team were Emma Ricci (F), Kate Eissenberg (MF), Abby Harrigan (MF), Nyah Savage (D), and Jaya Daniel (GK). 

The Captains rank 14th nationally in shutout percentage behind one of the most dominant defenses in the country as CNU has allowed only six goals in 16 games this season for a paltry 0.38 goals-against average. That mark ranks ninth nationally as McDonald, Savage, Daniel, and the rest of the CNU defense have suffocated opposing attacks all season long. 

Salisbury counters with the C2C Offensive Player of the Year Autumn Dougherty, who has logged 13 goals this season including one on Thursday. She is among the league leaders in goals, points, and game-winning goals while helping lead the Sea Gulls attack all season long. 

Fans looking to attend the match will be admitted one hour before kickoff at 3:00 p.m. with no admission charged. For fans unable to attend in person, live stats and a live video webcast will be available at CNUsports.com.

The winning team will advance to the 2022 C2C Tournament Championship on Sunday morning at 10:00 a.m. They will face the winner of the Santa Cruz/Mary Washington matchup played immediately following Friday's first semifinal.