Video Stream // Live Stats
NEWPORT NEWS, Va. -- The third-ranked Christopher Newport field hockey team will kick off the NCAA Tournament on Saturday at 11 a.m. when the Captains square off with 14th-ranked Kean in a second-round match-up at Jennings Family Stadium.
After earning a first-round bye, the Captains enter the weekend with a 17-0 record, including an 8-0 ledger at home. Meanwhile, Kean registered a 4-2 victory over St. Mary's (Md.) in the opening round on Wednesday and currently sits at 12-5 overall, including 6-5 on the road.
Tickets for Saturday's contest will be $10 for adults and $5 for seniors, students, and children. They can be purchased at the entrance to the stadium with cash only. CNU students will be admitted free-of-charge with a valid ID.
For those fans unable to attend the game, a video stream of the action will be available through Christopher Newport's official YouTube channel. The Captains will also provide live stats at CNUsports.com. Direct links to both features can be found at the top of this release and on the schedule page.
The winner of Saturday's game will advance to the third round of the NCAA Tournament, which will be played at Jennings Family Stadium on Sunday at 1 p.m. The other half of CNU's pod features a second-round showdown between No. 9 York (Pa.) and No. 11 Lynchburg, which will take place at 2 p.m. on Saturday.
The final team left standing at the end of the weekend will earn a spot in the NCAA Final Four, which will also be hosted by the Captains beginning on Friday, November 17.
Coming into the weekend, Christopher Newport boasts the nation's third-ranked scoring defense, which is allowing just 0.53 goals per contest. The Captains also sit second in the NCAA with a stellar .875 save percentage and seventh with 10 shutouts.
On an individual level,
Lily Kerr ranks in the top-five in both save percentage (.881) and goals-against-average (0.55). Additionally, the back line features a slew of decorated standouts.
Alexis Morales was celebrated as the Coast-to-Coast Athletic Conference Defensive Player of the Year and was joined on the first-team All-League squad by
Brooke Billhimer. Meanwhile,
Chloe Thompson is the program's lone fourth-year senior and was a two-time Defensive Player of the Week selection during the regular season.
Equally electric on the offensive side, CNU is sixth in the NCAA in scoring offense with a 4.41 goals-per-game rate. Morales is 11th in the NCAA with 12 assists, while
Abby Asuncion leads the team with 14 goals and 33 points.
Caroline Hughlett,
Lindsey Loar, and
Maddison Steele all have at least 20 points apiece this year as well.
Saturday's showdown will be a rematch of a regular season tilt between Kean and CNU, which was played on September 30. During a neutral-site battle in Winchester, Virginia, the Captains posted a 3-2 victory over the Cougars. Steele assisted on back-to-back goals by Hughlett and Asuncion in the first four minutes of regulation. Later, Morales sank the squad's third tally off a feed from
Katie Abendschoen, while Kerr pocketed six saves.
For Kean, Madison Brege scored in the 24th minute before Kelsey Lowden landed a blow with 62 seconds remaining in regulation. Morgan Stump assisted on both tallies, while Jenna Flemings contributed nine saves.
Overall this season, Flemings ranks 13th in the NCAA in save percentage (.817) and 31st in goals-against-average (1.23). On the offensive end, the Cougars have been outstanding at generating penalty corners, averaging 11.24 per contest. That ranks 10th in the country. Peyton Mann leads the squad with 39 points, including 15 goals, while Stump has six tallies and five helpers.
In three previous match-ups between the two programs, Kean holds a 2-1 edge in the series. Similar to Saturday's game, the first battle took place in the second round of the NCAA Tournament in 2017. The Cougars posted a 2-1 victory in that contest after converting twice on penalty corners, including the game-winning blast in the 49th minute.
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