COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Looking to continue it's dominant start to the 2023 season, the third-ranked Christopher Newport women's soccer team will face a pair of tests on the road this weekend as they travel to Capital University in the suburbs of Columbus, Ohio. The Captains (5-0-0) will first take on the host Comets (2-1-1) on Friday night at 7:00 p.m. before also facing the Ohio Northern University Polar Bears (0-3-1) in a neutral site matchup on Sunday, September 17 at 1:00 p.m. Live stats and video wil be available for all the action with links found at CNUsports.com.
Christopher Newport is in the midst of the longest active unbeaten streak in the NCAA with a 50-game roll (46-0-4) as the Captains have not dropped a game since 2019. This season, CNU has started with five straight wins including shutout victories over then-No. 20 Pacific Lutheran and No. 17 Virginia Wesleyan. The squad is coming off a 2-0 win over the Marlins, powered by senior midfielder
Emma Ricci with a goal and an assist on Tuesday night.
CNU has outscored its opponents, 10-1, as the defense has been a suffocating obstacle for opposing attacks, allowing just a single goal on a penalty kick in the season opener.
Reanna Slater,
Nyah Savage, and
Jackie Stallard have started all five games on the back line in front of junior goalkeeper
Jaya Daniel. The defense has allowed just 2.0 shots on-goal per game so far with four shutouts.
On the offensive end, seven different Captains have found the back of the net already this season, including multiple tallies for
Kyleigh Gough,
Alex Devers, and
Natalie Swarm. As a team, CNU is on target 36 percent of the time while ripping 136 total shots this season. Including Devers, the talented group of newcomers has helped add depth to the potent attack with transfers
Hanna Heaton,
Clare Davis, and
Madie Vincent playing significant minutes along with rookies
Bella Ventimiglia,
Lexi Hazelgrove, and
Alex Dalakis.
This will be the first matchup in program history between the Captains and both teams this weekend. CNU is 3-2-0 all-time against teams from Ohio but this is only the second-ever trip to the Buckeye State for the CNU women's soccer team. The first came as part of the team's national championship run in 2021 when they faced a pair of non-Ohio teams at Case Western Reserve in Trinity (Texas) and Chicago on route to winning the program's first title.
Entering Friday night's matchup, Capital is 2-1-1 with wins against Ohio Wesleyan and Allegheny while preceding a 1-1 draw against Mount St. Joseph. The Comets are averaging 2.50 goals per game while being led by conference player of the week Sophia Leonetti with seven points on three goals and one assist. Grace Estes has also added three goals for Capital while the team has employed three different goalkeepers through the first four games.
Ohio Northern has faced one of the toughest schedules in the nation to start the year, picking up a scoreless draw against Wittenberg before falling to then No. 2 Case Western Reserve, at Hardin-Simmons, and at No. 25 Mary Hardin-Baylor. That brutal slate continues with a Friday afternoon bout at No. 2 Carnegie Mellon before facing the third-ranked Captains on Sunday. Junior midfielder Libby Johnson has the team's lone goal this season while Morgan Moeller has played all 360 minutes in goal with a 1.25 GAA against the stiff competition.
Following the weekend away, the Captains will head to Fayetteville, N.C. on Wednesday, September 20 for a matchup with the Methodist Monarchs at 5:00 p.m. CNU will then return home to take on nationally-ranked Wisconsin-La Crosse at Captains Field next weekend.
