NEWPORT NEWS, Va. -- Behind a breathtaking defensive showcase and a second-half offensive eruption, the third-ranked Christopher Newport field hockey team captured the Coast-to-Coast Athletic Conference Championship with a thrilling 2-0 victory over No. 6 Salisbury on a gorgeous Saturday evening at Jennings Family Stadium.

Against the Sea Gulls, Alexis Morales broke a scoreless deadlock in the 45th minute after pin-balling a blast through the Salisbury defense following a penalty corner. Coupled with her stellar work on the defensive end of the field, she was honored as the Coast-to-Coast Athletic Conference Tournament MVP.

After Morales broke the seal at the end of the third quarter, Abby Asuncion continued the fireworks less than three minutes later. At the start of the fourth frame, she also capitalized on a corner attempt with her 14th goal of the season. That matched her career-high and equaled the eighth-most tallies by a Captain in program history.

Rounding out the offensive standouts, Katie Abendschoen and Courtney Hughlett registered assists while anchoring the midfield unit. For their efforts, they joined Asuncion and Morales on the All-Tournament Team.

Defensively, Christopher Newport limited Salisbury to only eight shots, equaling the fewest attempts by the Sea Gulls in any game this season. Lily Kerr brushed aside each of SU's three on-target attempts, while Brooke Billhimer deflected a pair of ropes in the third quarter.

With the victory, CNU claimed the second conference championship in program history. Incidentally, the title came exactly six years to the day since the 2017 Captains won the first crown with a 2-1 double-overtime triumph over Salisbury.

The win also bumped CNU's record to 17-0 on the season, while the setback dropped Salisbury to 13-4. The Captains are one of only two undefeated field hockey teams remaining in the NCAA, joining No. 1 Middlebury, who will compete for the NESCAC Championship on Sunday. Meanwhile, the 2023 squad is the first team in program history to enter the national playoffs with an unblemished record.

After a scoreless first half, the two squads settled in for a back-and-forth battle early in the third quarter. Holding up against several surges by the Sea Gulls, Chloe Thompson cut off a run along the right baseline, while Billhimer deflected her first shot of the period after quieting a rocket off a Salisbury corner. Moments later, Abendschoen helped flip the field as the third-year star won possession of an aerial and pushed forward. Eventually, she slammed a spinner through the circle, but it just skidded past the stick of Maddison Steele, who made a diving attempt on the interior.

Trying to keep the pressure on the visitors, Hughlett broke up a pair of clears along the right sideline during a 10-second window in the middle of the period, while Thompson ripped one away in the same spot just moments later.

Unfortunately, the Captains could not quite break through on the offensive end before Salisbury tried to counter. Bursting through a double-team, a Sea Gull slipped free on a sprint up the field, but Morales tracked her down and grabbed possession in the right corner. Later, Billhimer blocked another missile off a penalty corner before Hughlett snatched a tough bouncer that snuck into the circle and nearly landed on the stick of a Salisbury attacker.

Following the defensive stand, Christopher Newport went back to work on the other end. Jump-starting the attack, Lindsey Loar battled her way inside the arc on a run from the left sideline. Although the Sea Gulls eventually stole possession on the interior, they could not clear the zone. Ellie Nuckols orchestrated a pair of tremendous rides along the right boundary to prevent a quick clear before Abendschoen stole a roller in the center of the turf.

Continuing the assault in the final minute, Delaney Norr took a feed on the inside and circled around the defense along the right post. Once again, Salisbury handled the initial push, but CNU continued its attack. Eventually, with just seconds left on the clock, Lainey Pratzner hammered a knuckler into the teeth of the SU back line. Fighting for position, Norr battled through hard contact before drawing a corner.

Although Salisbury held up against CNU's first penalty corner, Morales secured a second opportunity. This time, Pratzner inserted the ball to Asuncion, who pulled the defense to the right before shuffling a pass back to Abendschoen. With some room to work, she bounced a feed to Morales, who blistered a backhand under the goalie and off the stick of a defender to open the scoring in the 45th minute.

Entering the fourth quarter with a 1-0 lead, Christopher Newport quickly tried to extend the advantage. Just over a minute into the final stanza, Steele spun free on a breakaway. After pulling to her left, she got the goalie to hit the turf, but her ensuing shot was batted down by a defender just in front of the cage.

Continuing to push forward, Abendschoen hammered a long-range laser into the circle, which handcuffed a Sea Gull and dropped her to the turf. That pressure eventually resulted in another corner in the 48th minute.

Looking to capitalize, Steele settled a lengthy insert that deflected out to the 25. Eventually, she punched it to Hughlett, who slipped a feed to Asuncion. With open spaces in the center of the zone, the reigning All-American unloaded a low liner that whistled inside the right pipe and gave the hosts a 2-0 edge.

With a multi-goal advantage, the defense took care of the rest. After the Sea Gulls worked their way down the field, an attacker wound up for a big swing at the top of the arc, but Abendschoen swooped in and stole possession before a shot could be taken. Later, Billhimer plucked a roller along the edge of the circle and sent it to Caroline Hughlett, who burned a path up the turf to end a threat in the middle of the stanza.

Keeping control in the latter portion of the period, Kendall Gibson threw up a roadblock along the right sideline before Caroline Hughlett stripped a defender along the offensive 25. Later, after the Sea Gulls finally slipped across midfield, Billhimer dropped low and sent an attacker crashing to the turf with a textbook tackle.

With time becoming a friend, the Captains went to work on the clock. Nuckols slowed down a pair of runs up the right sideline, while Caroline Hughlett cleared the ball to Steele, who burst into the offensive end. Then, as the raucous crowd began counting down the final few seconds of regulation, Nuckols disrupted one last clear attempt by the visitors to help polish off the victory.

The 2-0 gem was the 10th shutout of the year for CNU, equaling the second-most in a single-season in program history. It was also the 11th of Kerr's career, moving her into a tie for second on the school's all-time charts.

Starring throughout the game, the defense was equally stingy in the first half. In the opening frame, Kerr made a pair of saves, including a diving stop to kill off a corner in the fifth minute. Later, Asuncion bottled up a reverse chip from outside the circle, while Billhimer caught up to a streaker who wiggled free on a two-on-one rally up the left sideline.

Continuing the domination in the final moments of the first period, CNU silenced a corner in the 14th minute to close out the stanza. Asuncion applied immediate pressure at the top of the zone and deflected a pass towards the center of the circle. Although a Sea Gull eventually corralled the bouncer, Kerr kicked away an on-target shot before Thompson blocked a follow-up attempt.

In the second quarter, Salisbury earned another corner in the 18th minute, but Asuncion was glued to a shooter on the right side of the arc and forced a rip to spin past the cage. After clearing the defensive end, the Captains kept the ball planted on the other side during the middle of the stanza as Billhimer and Thompson both intercepted passes along the 50.

Trying to capitalize on the pressure, Christopher Newport had several solid looks at the end of the first half. On a corner in the 27th minute, Morales threaded a pass through a crowd, but Caroline Hughlett's deflection trickled past the post. Later, Abendschoen had a blast punched away by the keeper, while Morales had another attempt spin past Hughlett on the right side of the zone.

Fortunately, with the pressure mounting at the end of the first half, the Captains took advantage after the break as the hosts slapped a pair of goals on the board over the final 30 minutes to lock down the league championship.

Overall, Christopher Newport held a 13-8 advantage in shots and an 11-5 edge in corners during the grueling 60-minute affair.

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