SALEM, Va. -- Kicking off the busiest week of the season, the fifth-ranked Christopher Newport field hockey team will square off against Rhodes on Monday at 10 a.m. during a neutral-site battle at Roanoke College's Donald J. Kerr Stadium in Salem, Virginia.
Entering the week, Christopher Newport sits at 10-1 on the season, including 5-1 on the road. Meanwhile, Rhodes is 9-4 with a 7-3 ledger on the road.
Monday's game will be the first of three battles this week for the Captains. CNU will also travel to St. Mary's (Md.) on Thursday before heading to Washington & Lee on Saturday.
Christopher Newport is coming off of a 4-2 victory over No. 18 New Paltz on Saturday. That victory marked the squad's third triumph over a program currently ranked in the NFHCA National Coaches Poll. Along with the Hawks, the Captains previously dispatched No. 20 Messiah on September 14 and No. 9 York (Pa.) on September 22.
During Saturday's action,
Courtney Hughlett scored the game's first goal just 63 seconds into regulation, marking her fifth straight appearance with at least one point. That equals the longest scoring streak by a Captain since former legend Mauri Ware had a point in six consecutive outings during the 2019 campaign.
Along with Hughlett,
Avery Mast,
Caroline Hughlett, and
Ellie Nuckols also found the back of the cage for the victors, while
Katie Abendschoen dished out two assists. The four goals equaled the most against a nationally-ranked opponent since CNU knocked off No. 20 Johns Hopkins, 6-0, on September 25, 2011.
On the other end of the field, Christopher Newport held up against a New Paltz attack that entered the game ranked second in the country in scoring offense.
Lily Kerr secured nine saves, including a highlight-reel stop on a penalty stroke in the second half.
Brooke Billhimer and
Kendall Gibson also walked away with defensive saves during a well-rounded team effort.
So far this season, Billhimer leads the Coast-to-Coast Athletic Conference with four defensive saves, while Gibson is tied for second with three. With her performance on Saturday, Billhimer also extended her "Iron Man" streak to 1,088 consecutive minutes of action dating back to last season. She is just 25 minutes shy of moving past CNU Hall of Famer Kim Tomlin for the fifth-longest streak in program history.
Aided by the work of the back line along with Kerr's tremendous performance between the pipes, Christopher Newport boasts a stellar 0.82 goals-against-average this season. That stands as the eighth-best mark in program history. Meanwhile, the squad's .830 save percentage is the ninth-finest of all-time.
Rhodes comes into Monday on a five-game winning streak after knocking off Mary Washington, 2-1, during an overtime thriller on Saturday. After Lora Chandler knotted the game with less than 10 minutes remaining in regulation, Alder Dickey landed the final blow in the second overtime period to seal the win. Catherine Gluodenis also added 10 saves while earning the hard-fought victory.
Overall this year, Gluodenis ranks 24th in the NCAA in save percentage (.805) and 30th in goals-against-average (1.21). On the offensive end, Izzy Hendricks has eight goals and 20 points, while Maria Zaporozhski sits second on the squad with 11 points. Bella Spina has five tallies as well.
Monday's bout will mark the 13th meeting between the two programs with Christopher Newport holding a 12-0 edge in the series. Last year, the Captains walked away with a 6-0 victory in Fredericksburg.
Maddison Steele landed a pair of strikes during that contest, while Gibson came through with her first career tally.
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