SALISBURY, Md. -- Continuing a run of dominance unprecedented in Christopher Newport athletics history, the second-ranked CNU women's soccer team concluded the 2023 regular season unbeaten for the third straight year after a dominant 4-0 win at Salisbury University on Saturday afternoon. The Captains will enter the postseason riding a 61-match unbeaten streak dating back to the 2019 NCAA Tournament (56-0-5). 

On route to a national championship in 2021, the Captains finished their first regular season under head coach Jamie Gunderson with a 14-0-1 mark. Last year, CNU was 14-0-2 before entering the conference tournament. And now, improving to 43-0-4 in regular season play in three seasons under Coach Gunderson, the Captains have registered a 15-0-1 record as the second-ranked team in the nation. 

Sophomore Hanna Heaton led the charge against the Sea Gulls on Saturday, picking up the game-winning goal and then assisting on two of the other three goals in the contest. In her first season with Christopher Newport, Heaton has a team-leading 13 points while also pacing the Captains' attack in both goals (4) and assists (5). 

After Heaton's winner in the ninth minute, CNU scored twice more in the first half as Ellie Cox and Natalie Swarm found the back of the net. Just under eight minutes into the second half, senior Emma Ricci added her fourth of the season to round out the extraordinary offensive performance.

While the attack poured it on with 19 shots and nine corner kicks, it was another standout performance by the Captains' suffocating defensive unit on Saturday. Amy Sidaway started in goal and played over three-quarters of the game before giving way to Abby Ochs for the final 15 minutes of action. Sidaway made a pair of saves as the pair added to the Captains' consecutive shutout streak, now at nine straight games with a record 839.3 scoreless minutes by the CNU defense. 

Leading the defense was Reanna Slater, playing her 14th consecutive complete game at center back while the Captains were able to extend the bench in the runaway victory. Nyah Savage played 82 minutes and rookie Bella DiTommaso added 80 minutes of shutout defense on the back line. Kyleigh Gough and Ellie Cox rotated back out of the midfield and rookie Riley Phillips and junior Maddie Rusinko also helped secure the clean sheet. 

Offensively, the Captains were firing on all cylinders from the outset as Heaton was on fire from the field. She took four of the first five shots in the game, including two in the first five minutes of action. In the ninth minute, a cross played in by Heaton ricocheted off a defender into the goal and put the Captains ahead, 1-0. 

Just over ten minutes later, Heaton was again integral in the Captains' scoring chance as she took a corner kick in the 20th minute. Her ball played nicely into the center of the six-yard box and the first touch was skied high into the air. As the ball caromed back toward the Earth, it was the 5-1 junior midfielder, Ellie Cox, positioned perfectly for a header on frame and the score. Her second goal of the season gave Heaton her first assist of two on the day. 

The Captains pressure continued as CNU ripped two more shots toward Salisbury goalkeeper Riley Pinato before the third got by her. After a reset out of the back found Sarah Smith in the middle of the pitch, senior forward Natalie Swarm patiently paused next to the final defender before Smith slipped an exceptional pass beyond the back line for Swarm to sprint on and find. In a footrace with the keeper, Swarm won and touched a low bouncer into the right side of the goal to put the Captains ahead, 3-0. 

Rounding out the scoring early in the second half, Heaton put a cap on her well-rounded performance by sliding a pass through the middle to the right side of the box for Ricci. Wasting no time, Ricci took one touch and then unleashed an indefensible bullet into the top of the netting for her fourth goal of the season. 

The Captains never stopped pushing forward as senior Kenna McCarthy blistered one shot on-goal while Smith and Corinne Kulik each added two shots from the field. Heaton finished the day with a team-high five attempts as the Captains outshot the home team, 19-3. 

Christopher Newport will now shift it's focus to the postseason as the two-time defending conference champions head into the Coast-To-Coast Athletic Conference Championship in Fredericksburg, Va. next week. CNU has won five of the last six conference tournaments dating back to the 2016 season.