NEWPORT NEWS, Va. -- Battling until the bitter end, the third-ranked Christopher Newport field hockey team pieced together 68 minutes of thrilling, edge-of-your-seat action before dropping a hard-fought 1-0 overtime decision to 14th-ranked Kean in the second round of the NCAA Tournament on a sunny Saturday afternoon at Jennings Family Stadium.
Against the Cougars, the Captains held tough on both ends of the field. Christopher Newport tested Kean's back line with a relentless assault as the hosts unloaded 27 shots during the marathon battle. Meanwhile, CNU played swarming defense and limited the opposition to only seven total attempts during the contest, but the visitors landed the game's lone goal after converting a 2-on-1 breakaway with less than two minutes remaining in the first overtime period.
Lily Kerr made five saves for CNU, while
Abby Asuncion and
Maddison Steele combined for 15 shots, including eight on-target rips. Unfortunately, Kean's Jenna Flemings orchestrated a masterful performance between the pipes as the fifth-year senior collected 17 saves, including three stops on penalty strokes.
With the setback, Christopher Newport wrapped up the year with a 17-1 record, while Kean improved to 13-5 and earned a spot in the Elite Eight, which will take place on Sunday at 1 p.m. at Jennings Family Stadium.
After a scoreless 60 minutes of regulation, the two teams settled in for an electric overtime period. Asuncion immediately pushed forward, but her initial rush was blocked by Kean's back line. Seconds later,
Courtney Hughlett intercepted a clear attempt near midfield and connected with
Katie Abendschoen, who sent a spinner through the circle.
Continuing to push in the 63rd minute,
Brooke Billhimer sliced a feed to Asuncion, who burst free on a run towards the cage. Pulling to her right, she secured a clean look, but Kean's keeper made a sliding tackle to break up the surge, which resulted in back-to-back penalty strokes.
Unfortunately, on two straight attempts, the Cougars' goalie made a diving save to prevent any damage.
Unfazed, the Captains kept pressure on Kean's defense. Asuncion had a shot blocked along the left pipe before a second attempt skipped wide. Moments later,
Lainey Pratzner slid a pass over to Steele, who ripped a rocket from the center of the zone, but the goalie made another kick save to punt it out of harm's way.
Sadly, after handling the early advances by CNU, the Cougars retaliated. In the 69th minute, the visitors wiggled free on a 2-on-1 breakaway after a forward danced up the left sideline as a second attacker found open spaces on the right edge of the circle.
Stretched thin on the back line, the Captains could not quite stymie the surge as a shot bounced into the back of the cage for the game-winner.
Along with holding a 27-7 edge in shots, Christopher Newport also had a 7-2 lead in penalty corners. Unfortunately, Kean was able to overcome the statistical discrepancies and pull out the victory.
Long before the Cougars landed the final blow, the Captains controlled possession throughout the opening quarter of action. Early on,
Delaney Norr had a rope kicked away by the keeper, while
Caroline Hughlett had a shot deflected by a defender. Shortly thereafter, Steele had her first screamer stoned on the interior as the hosts struggled to find an opening.
Meanwhile, on the opposite side, Christopher Newport never let Kean find a rhythm. Abendschoen quieted an early rally after cutting off an attacker before
Alexis Morales grabbed possession and flipped the field. Later, Billhimer broke up a dribbler at the edge of the arc and tracked down a long roller up the right sideline in the middle of the period.
Bottling up rally after rally,
Kendall Gibson intercepted a restart near midfield,
Courtney Hughlett had a takeaway along the right sideline, and
Chloe Thompson disrupted a late push while playing shorthanded in the final seconds of the first quarter.
In the second stanza, Christopher Newport went back to work on the offensive side. Asuncion whistled a one-timer past the post, while Steele and Abendschoen had two straight darts deflected by the defense. Shortly thereafter, Asuncion had a chip sail over the crossbar, while
Lindsey Loar had a missile batted away by the goalie.
When the Cougars finally slipped across midfield, Billhimer stole possession along the circle before Norr screamed up the left sideline. Catching the defense on its heels, she quickly sent a crosser to Steele, but two straight shots on the interior were gobbled up by the keeper.
Trying to land a counterpunch in the final minute of the first half, a Kean attacker collected a long hit after sneaking past the defense. Sprinting back, Billhimer and
Courtney Hughlett slowed down the surge before Abendschoen bullied her way inside and ripped the ball away before a shot could be taken along the left post.
Still scoreless entering the second half, the hosts continued to apply pressure.
Courtney Hughlett had an early shot turned away on the inside. Later in the period, Norr worked her way into the left corner and sliced a feed through the circle, but it just missed connecting with
Ellie Nuckols.
After holding up against Christopher Newport's advances, Kean generated its first shot of the game in the 41st minute, but Billhimer deflected a high-rising rocket towards the left post. Later, an attacker collected a feed in the same spot and pounded away along the pipe, but Kerr hit the turf, walled off the cage, and swallowed four straight shots to keep the opposition off the scoreboard entering the fourth period.
Searching for an opening, Christopher Newport had a great look just seconds into the final stanza. Steele worked her way through five defenders before blasting a one-timer that caught the left post and spiraled out of bounds.
After escaping CNU's initial surge, Kean tried to respond but had little success breaking through. Playing shorthanded after getting hit with another card, Asuncion intercepted a pass along the circle before
Courtney Hughlett stamped out a run along the right baseline.
Although the visitors eventually earned a corner, Thompson disrupted an elevated shot to brush aside the opportunity. Moments later, Morales threw up a roadblock along the baseline before Abendschoen thwarted a breakaway up the left sideline to kill off a rush in the middle of the period.
Flipping the field, Abendschoen eventually sailed a pass inside to Nuckols, who settled the hopper and drew a corner with a defender on her hip. Unfortunately, Asuncion's ensuing shot was punched away along the right post.
With time ticking down,
Courtney Hughlett helped keep the ball planted on the offensive end. Late in the period, she dipped low and sent a midfielder tumbling head-over-heels with a fantastic tackle along the sideline. Shortly thereafter, she broke up another run in the right corner before Billhimer chased down a dangerous bouncer that skipped between three attackers on the inside of the circle.
Entering the final minute of regulation, Steele forced her way inside and was tackled by a defender, which generated a penalty stroke. Unfortunately, in a sign of things to come, Kean's goalie made a diving stop to prevent any damage.
Still fighting, the Captains managed to earn two corners in the last 30 seconds, but the first was spoiled by a kick save before the final attempt sailed over the cage.
Unfortunately, even after Christopher Newport set the tone with early runs in overtime, Kean was able to hang on and survive before depositing the lone goal in the 69th minute.
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