Live Stats // Video Stream

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. -- The sixth-ranked Christopher Newport field hockey team will kick off the NCAA Tournament on Wednesday at 5 p.m. when the Captains host St. Mary's (Md.) in a first-round battle at Jennings Family Stadium.

For those fans attending Wednesday's game, tickets will be $5 and can be purchased at the front gate beginning one hour prior to the start of the contest. Sales will be cash only. CNU students will be admitted free of charge with a valid ID.

Christopher Newport will also provide live stats and a video stream of the action. Live stats will be available at CNUsports.com, while the video feed will be streamed through NCAA.com. Direct links to both features can be found at the top of this release and on the schedule page.

Entering the contest, Christopher Newport sits at 14-2 on the season, including 6-0 at home. On the other side, St. Mary's (Md.) is 10-10 with a 3-6 mark on the road. The Captains earned one of the country's 10 at-large bids to the NCAA Tournament, while the Seahawks picked up an automatic berth after claiming the United East Conference Championship.

Less than three weeks ago, CNU and SMC met in the regular season with the Captains securing a 5-0 victory at Jamie L. Roberts Stadium in Maryland. After the visitors secured a modest 1-0 lead entering halftime, Christopher Newport tacked on a pair of goals in both the third and fourth quarters to pull away for the win. Maddison Steele landed two strikes for the victors, while Julia Oleyar, Katie Abendschoen, and Gigi Stephan also found the back of the cage.

Along with the offensive stars, Lily Kerr contributed four saves for CNU, while Sophia Kent tallied five for the Seahawks. Jena Vanskiver also had a defensive save and a team-high three shots for the hosts.

Aided by that performance, Christopher Newport wrapped up the regular season ranked second in the NCAA in save percentage (.867), third in goals-against-average (0.67), and fifth in shutouts-per-game (0.56). On an individual level, Kerr is fifth in goals-against-average (0.66) and eighth in save percentage (.848). Brooke Billhimer is also 20th in defensive saves after notching her seventh in the league championship against No. 2 Salisbury on Saturday. That total places her fourth on the program's all-time single-season charts.

Billhimer and Kerr are also two of eight starters returning from last year's NCAA Tournament team. In fact, of the 22 players on the current roster, 12 have seen game action in the national playoffs. Headlining that group, Billhimer, Abendschoen, and Lainey Pratzner have earned starting assignments in each of CNU's four NCAA Tournament games since arriving as freshmen in 2021.

Putting their run into perspective, only four previous Captains have ever started games in the NCAA Tournament in each of their four years with the program. That group includes CNU Hall of Famers Marlene Lichty (2010-13) and Caitlin Cahill (2009-12) as well as longtime legends Stephanie Bair (2007-10) and Brianna Milne (2008-11).

Meanwhile, Steele has also appeared in every postseason contest over the past three years. Only eight Captains have ever competed in an NCAA Tournament game in each of their four seasons at CNU. Along with the aforementioned starters, Katelyn Yandle (2007-10), Paige Childers (2008-11), Jordan Snider (2010-13), and Meghan Sullivan (2010-13) are the only other standouts to accomplish that feat.

Overall, this year's squad will be making the program's 13th appearance in the national playoffs, including back-to-back Sweet 16 berths in 2022 and 2023. Additionally, Wednesday's contest will be the program's 11th home game in the NCAA Tournament. It will also mark the fourth straight season that the Captains open the playoffs at home, joining Babson and Tufts as the only schools to host a game during every tournament from 2021-24.

On the other side, St. Mary's (Md.) is back in the postseason for the second straight year after knocking off Keystone, 5-1, during the United East Championship on Saturday. During that contest, Charlotte Horn deposited a pair of goals and was celebrated as the Tournament MVP. Brenna Ziegler also collected her 100th career point during the title bout.

Horn and Ziegler are two of nine Seahawks who are back on the roster after starting last year's NCAA Tournament game against Kean. Ziegler scored in that showdown as St. Mary's (Md.) grabbed a 2-1 lead before the Cougars retaliated with three straight second-half strikes to take a 4-2 triumph.

So far this season, Vanskiver ranks 14th in the NCAA with eight defensive saves, while Kent is 18th in save percentage (.820) and 20th in goals-against-average (0.96). On the offensive end, Emma Watkins leads the team with 12 goals, while Ziegler has a team-high nine assists and 31 total points.

The winner of Wednesday's game will move on to the Sweet 16, which will be hosted by No. 1 Salisbury on Saturday at 2 p.m. The advancing team will face the survivor of a first-round match-up between No. 10 York (Pa.) and Johnson & Wales (Providence).

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