NEWPORT NEWS, Va. -- The nationally-ranked Christopher Newport University women's soccer team was crowned conference champions again on Sunday with a 1-0 win over #3-seed Mary Washington on a beautiful, sunny morning at Captains Field. The undefeated Captains improved to 16-0-2 after a second-half game-winning goal from senior midfielder Emily Talotta proved to be the difference in a shutout win over the Eagles. 

After earning C2C Tournament MVP honors in 2021, the veteran Emily Talotta stepped up again in 2022 with the game-winning goal against Mary Washington on Sunday. She scored her first goal of the season in dramatic fashion when she broke a scoreless tie in the 69th minute of play. 

The goal came after a foul was whistled in the center of the pitch just on the Mary Washington side of midfield. On the restart, with an Eagle defender hovering around the ball, savvy fifth-year midfielder Abby Harrigan did not wait for the defense to get set and played a quick pass outside for Talotta, who took over from there. The Arlington, Va. native knifed through the Mary Washington defense, beating one defender to the middle and then finding a gap between two more to smack a left-footed bender into the right panel of the goal. 

After breaking through on the offensive end, the Captains' defense needed to just hold for the final 22 minutes to capture the team's second straight and fifth overall conference title. With the win, Christopher Newport earn's the league's automatic berth into the 2022 NCAA Division III National Championship Tournament, set to begin next weekend. 

Overall, the Captains controlled most of the game and held a distinct advantage in total shots until the final 20 minutes when Mary Washington ripped eight attempts trying to find the equalizer. The back line held strong and sophomore goalkeeper Jaya Daniel made three saves to earn the team's 12th shutout of the season including her seventh solo clean sheet. Nyah Savage and Re Slater each made notable stops in one-on-one opportunities throughout the game including a lengthy battle for Savage in the corner that saw the CNU defender playing tight man-to-man pressure until she managed to free the ball up the field for the Captains. 

Experience proved to be a big factor for the Captains on Sunday as the senior class got excellent contributions across the board. In the midfield, Harrigan and Talotta played excellent games while Molly Beegle and Jessica Zimmermann came off the bench and were both a spark again. Beegle had a free kick with about 33 minutes remaining that looked destined for the right side of the goal, but the Mary Washington goalkeeeper made a sprawling, diving save to keep the Captains off the board. Senior defenders Jill McDonald and Sarah Rhiel helped the suffocating CNU back line hold the Eagles to just three shots on goal in 90 minutes.

Additionally, the return of first team All-Conference forward Sarah Smith after missing the last five games to a foot injury was a momentum-shifting substitution in the second half. Her first shot in nearly a month was a whistling line drive headed to the right side of the netting but the Mary Washington goalkeeper made the stop. Her second attempt minutes later was another beautiful shot on target from range, forcing another save. It was just three minutes later that Talotta was able to find the winner with Smith there to celebrate on the field with her classmate. 

As Mary Washington threw everything forward in the final few minutes, the Captains held strong to the 1-0 advantage. Beegle was on the ball multiple times in the final minute, including a game-clinching tackle in the final 15 seconds to stymie any chance for an Eagles final run. 

After scoring two goals and leading a defense that allowed just one goal in two postseason games, Jill McDonald was named the C2C Tournament MVP. Joining her on the All-Tournament Team was Ellie Cox, Emily Talotta, and Corinne Kulik. 

Christopher Newport improved it's streak of consecutive games without a loss to 41 games (38-0-3) since the start of the 2021 campaign. The Captains will head into the NCAA Tournament riding the longest active streak in NCAA soccer. 

The NCAA Division III Soccer Championship Selection Show will be aired on NCAA.com live at 2:00 p.m. on Monday, November 7. Information on CNU's first round opponent and game location will be released at that time.