SWARTHMORE, Pa. -- The third-ranked Christopher Newport women's soccer team will get back to the field on Saturday at noon when the Captains (8-0-1) travel to Swarthmore College for a matchup in Pennsylvania.
This week, the Captains are ranked No. 3 in the nation according to the United Soccer Coaches national rankings. Swarthmore enters the matchup receiving votes in the poll. Both teams are unbeaten with Christopher Newport riding an eight-game winning streak and Swarthmore posting a 5-0-4 overall record so far this season.
For fans unable to travel to Clothier Field in Swarthmore, Pa., live stats and a live video webcast will be available at CNUsports.com. It will be the third matchup all-time between the two programs with Christopher Newport capturing wins in the first two; CNU won 3-2 on the road in 2022 and added a 1-0 victory at home last season.
This year, a historic run continues for Christopher Newport with 76 straight games without a loss. Head coach
Jamie Gunderson has yet to record a loss on his head coaching ledger in that span, compiling an unprecedented record of 68-0-8 since taking the helm. The Captains have faced 42 different teams from 20 different states (and the District of Columbia) on 22 different fields over the past four years and have not yet suffered a loss under the direction of Gunderson, who is in his first career stint as a head coach. He remains one year shy of qualifying for the NCAA Coaching Record Book, but his all-time winning percentage of 94.74 percent would be the highest across all three levels of active NCAA coaches by well over three full percentage points.
On Saturday, the Captains face a stiff challenge to continue that impressive record-breaking streak, which stands as the third longest in NCAA soccer history behind runs of 103 (Aug. 30, 1986-Sept. 17, 1990) and 101 (Sept. 23, 1990-Oct. 16, 1994) by Division I North Carolina. Christopher Newport will take on a Swarthmore squad that has already tied Messiah College this year, ranked No. 3 in the nation, and has a six-game unbeaten streak at home. The Garnet was ranked No. 21 in the nation earlier this season and remain one of the top teams in Division III.
Christopher Newport will counter that success with a red-hot offense that has scored 13 goals in the last four games with multi-goal performances in all four.
Hanna Heaton has factored into 12 of those 13 scores with five goals and seven assists to take a stranglehold on the offensive lead for CNU with 24 total points on eight goals and eight assists.
Emma Ricci and
Corinne Kulik, both in their fifth year, are helping anchor the dominant attack with nine and eight points, respectively.
Defensively, the Captains are formidable with the veteran presence of
Reanna Slater and
Nyah Savage on the back line. Savage has started 76 straight games while Slater, a first team All-American, holds down the center back spot. Junior
Kyleigh Gough has had a tremendous season in the defensive mid position while
Bella DiTommaso has started all nine games at the other outside back spot, helping contribute to six shutouts in nine games this year.
Swarthmore is averaging 2.11 goals per game while holding opponents under one per contest. Ava Gizzie is the team's leading scorer with 19 points on nine goals and one assist while recording three of the team's five game-winning scores. Charlotte Carleton and Celia Kanellakos are the other two with winners this season with a combined 14 points for the Garnet. In goal, Sofie Aird and Lila Travers have split time and both have a save percentage over 80 percent. As a team, Swarthmore has a 0.89 goals-against average in 810 minutes of action.
Following Saturday's game, the Captains will return home for a mid-week matchup against Southern Virginia University on Wednesday, October 9. That game will be played as the second half of a doubleheader with the men's team with kickoff scheduled for 7:00 p.m.
