SWARTHMORE, Pa. -- The top-ranked Christopher Newport women's soccer team extended it's streak of consecutive games without a loss to 29 on a beautiful Saturday afternoon at Swarthmore College (6-1-0), racing out to a 3-0 lead over the Garnet before holding on for a 3-2 win on the road. The Captains improve to 5-0-1 on the season after senior Sarah Rhiel scored a goal and an assist off of corner kicks to help lead CNU to the win. 

Christopher Newport scored a pair of goals in the first half and tacked on one morein the 70th minute while opening up a three-goal lead against the previously-undefeated Garnet. The home team would rally for two late goals, but the CNU lead was too much to overcome as the Captains continue to add to the team's historical unbeaten streak. 

The Captains have not lost since November 17, 2019 in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Since, CNU has run off a winning record of 27-0-2 and is now tied with Messiah (2001-02) and Wheaton (2004-05) for the 13th longest streak in the history of Division III women's soccer. 

On Saturday, the Captains withstood an early burst of offense from Swarthmore that saw the home team take three corner kicks in the first 24 minutes of action. After that, however, the CNU offense took control and Swarthmore was held to just a single shot over nearly 38 minutes between the end of the first and start of the second halves. Five of the nine Garnet attempts came in the final 27 minutes of action as the home team pressed after falling in the three-goal deficit. 

The scoring started for CNU in the 33rd minute when rookie Molly Seventko showed off her resilience in the top of the box. Seventko sped down the field and into the box where a defender made the tackle on the CNU rookie, but the ball stayed at her feet. When Seventko got back up, she had her back to the goal and saw junior Maddie Blake just beyond the top of the box directly behind her. With a quick pass and a rocket shot from Blake, the Captains took a 1-0 lead on the first goal of the season for the midfielder.

It was just minutes later when the Captains doubled their lead off the first of two corner kick goals in the game. Both were taken by Sarah Rhiel, including a picture-perfect cross into the box in the 37th minute to find Jill McDonald ready and waiting on the back post. The senior defender got her head on the ball and directed into the back of the net for a 2-0 Captains lead.

In the 70th minute, the Captains got another goal off a restart when Rhiel stepped up to another free ball from the corner and took aim at the right panel of the inside of the goal. The senior defender sailed her shot directly into the netting, sending the CNU bench into a frenzy with the highlight-reel finish. The three-point performance was the most for Rhiel since she scored five on two goals and an assist during her freshman year against Methodist while playing midfield in an 11-0 runaway victory. Rhiel now has a goal and five assists since transitioning to the back line with four points this season on one goal and two helpers. 

Swarthmore answered with a header off a corner kick goal themselves in the 78th minute, and pulled within one in the 89th minute making Rhiel's goal a pivotal insurance tally. It would stand as the game-winning goal, the first of her career. 

CNU held a decided 21-9 advantage in total shots including a 9-6 edge in shots on-goal. 

The Captains will finish it's trip to Pennsylvania with a road game at Widener University (2-1-2) on Sunday afternoon at 1:00 p.m. Live stats and a live video webcast will be available online.