NEWPORT NEWS, Va. -- Showing off one of the deepest rosters in the nation, the top-ranked Christopher Newport women's soccer team blitzed past Roanoke College (8-4-4) in the final home regular season game of the year on Saturday, dropping the Maroons, 5-0. Five different CNU players scored in the Senior Night victory, including senior midfielder Emma Ricci putting away the game-winning in the first half. 

The Captains dominated the matchup on both sides of the ball, outshooting Roanoke by a final count of 37-4 including a 17-1 advantage in shots on-goal. Christopher Newport improved to 14-0-1 with the 13th shutout of the year to extend the program's record shutout streak to over 749 minutes played without allowing a goal. 

With the win, Christopher Newport reached 60 consecutive games played without a loss, tying Ohio Wesleyan (from 2001 to 2003) for the second longest streak in NCAA Division III history. The Captains become just the fourth NCAA women's soccer program, including Division I, II, and III, to reach 60 or more games played without a loss joining legendary programs at the University of North Carolina (Division I), Messiah College (Division III), and the aforementioned Battling Bishops of Ohio Wesleyan (Division III). 

Prior to the offensive explosion on the field, a dynamite group of seniors were honored in a pre-game ceremony as nine players were recognized prior to the final home regular season game of the year. All nine played in the game, including Corinne Kulik and Ricci, who each got into the scoring column, and Kenna McCarthy, who played a season-high 28 minutes controlling the midfield. Callie Birk, Maddie Blake, Courtney Ennis, Natalie Swarm, and Madie Vincent were all part of the action on Saturday evening, along with Nyah Savage, making her 60th straight start and playing the full 90 minutes. 

The Captains jumped out to a 1-0 lead just under 13 minutes into the game when three of CNU's leading scorers connected for the would-be gamewinner. Kulik started the action on her Senior Night with a short pass central for Sarah Smith, the fifth-year forward. She found a seam through the defense to play Ricci onsides, who beat the keeper to the ball for one touch beyond before tucking home the goal. 

Despite a number of quality chances, the Captains remained ahead just 1-0 until the 40th minute when rookie Lexi Hazelgrove delivered an absolute missile off a deflection by the Roanoke defense. The play was started when senior Madie Vincent stuck with a challenge on a 50-50 ball after a long run up the field. After the ball was played out of bounds, Bella Ventimiglia received a throw-in in the right corner. She tried to cross the ball into the box but a Maroons defender attempted to clear the ball away; it trickled right to the top of the box where Hazelgrove stepped in a hammered a laser into the left side of the netting for her first career goal. 

CNU carried the 2-0 advantage into the break but would break the game open with back-to-back tallies within a span of just over a minute early in the second half. The Captains got unassisted tallies from Smith and Kyleigh Gough in the 64th and 65th minutes to open up a 4-0 lead. First, Smith took on a free-kick from just outside the box after Nyah Savage took a hard foul and went sprawling to earn the Captains the set piece opportunity. The fifth-year midfielder wasted no time, bending in a perfectly-placed 22-yard attempt off the bottom of the crossbar for her third goal of the season. 

With the three-point performance, scoring a goal and adding the assist earlier in the game, Smith eclipsed 50 career points with 23 goals and six assists for 52 career points in three years as a member of the CNU squad. 

Just over a minute later, it was another surgical strike as Kyleigh Gough made a run to her left after intercepting a clear attempt and looking to create. She drove by three defenders before cutting back to the middle of the field and unleashing a howitzer into the upper 90 with a clinical finish. Gough took over the team lead for scoring on the season after becoming the first CNU player in double digits with 11 points on four goals and three helpers this season. 

With the match all but wrapped up, the Captains would add a fifth goal in the 77th minute from the defensive unit. A trio of seniors connected on a nice possession as Maddie Blake found Callie Birk for a one-touch pass over to Kenna McCarthy, who battled through resistence as her defender dropped her to one knee, but McCarthy kept the play alive with a pass out to Bella DiTommaso. Moments later, a foul just inside the sideline would provide the Captains with another restart, this time taken by the rookie DiTommaso. From 50 yards away, the freshman blasted a free kick that bounced right on the six-yard line and over the Roanoke keeper into the back of the net. 

The offense handled the fireworks, but the Captains defense put together another standout performance against Roanoke as Reanna Slater paired with Nyah Savage for a complete-game on the back line as each notched their 14th 90-minute effort of the year. DiTommaso played 83 minutes in her second career start while Maddie Rusinko and Riley Phillips each finished out the game defensively for CNU. 

In goal, Amy Sidaway played over 77 minutes in the contest and turned away the lone shot on-goal by the Maroons. She lowered her season's goals-against average to 0.09, ranking second in the country while playing a role in ten of the Captains' 13 shutouts this year. Abby Ochs finished out the clean sheet, playing the final 13 minutes and extending her personal shutout streak to over 364 minutes to start her career. 

The Captains close out the regular season at home with a perfect 8-0-0 record at Captains Field in 2023. CNU has now recorded a 28-game unbeaten streak at home (25-0-3) since the final home game of the 2019 season. 

Christopher Newport will finish out the regular season next Saturday, October 28 at Salisbury University. Kickoff against the Sea Gulls is set for 1:00 p.m.