NEWPORT NEWS, Va. -- Capitalizing on a first-half eruption and a 60-minute defensive masterpiece, the sixth-ranked Christopher Newport field hockey team cruised to a 4-0 victory over St. Mary's (Md.) in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on a frigid Wednesday evening at Jennings Family Stadium.

Headlining the action, Avery Mast landed a pair of strikes, becoming just the fourth Captain in program history to register a multi-goal effort in the NCAA Tournament. She also became only the second freshman to score in the playoffs, joining former legend Jackie Kotoriy, who connected against Kean on November 11, 2017.

Equally impressive, Courtney Hughlett chipped in with three assists, which marked the second-most by a Captain in the NCAA Tournament. With that performance, she also bumped her season total to 13 helpers, tying the all-time program record set by Haylie Black in 2006.

Along with the history-makers, Caroline Hughlett opened the action with a dagger in the third minute, while Lindsey Loar added her second goal of the season.

Meanwhile, on the defensive side, Christopher Newport limited the Seahawks to only two shots, which marked the second-lowest total by an opponent in an NCAA Tournament game in school history. It was also the program's fourth all-time shutout in the national playoffs and its first since a 1-0 victory over Catholic on November 17, 2013.

With the win, CNU improved to 15-2 on the season and advanced to the Sweet 16 for the third straight season. The Captains will square off against No. 10 York (Pa.) at 2 p.m. on Saturday at Salisbury's Sea Gull Stadium.

Less than three minutes into regulation, the Captains opened the scoring. Off a corner, Delaney Norr inserted the ball to Katie Abendschoen, who showed off a soft touch to find Courtney Hughlett curling along the top of the arc. Rolling to her right, the second-year star laced a seed towards the cage. After the ball was deflected in traffic, it squirted out to her sister, who was stationed on the left side of the circle.

Although the defense was still in solid position, Norr did the dirty work on the inside. Creating a lane, the senior boxed out a defender and screened the goalie while fighting through contact. With some daylight, Caroline Hughlett capitalized with a screamer from close range.

Less than four minutes later, the Captains stretched their lead after taking advantage of another corner. This time, Ellie Nuckols sent a direct insert to Courtney Hughlett, who was planted at the top of the circle. Unleashing a wicked one-timer, she sent a bullet that deflected off a defender, bounced off the right post, and rolled to a stop on Mast's stick. After collecting the ricochet, the freshman quickly banged home her first goal of the contest for a 2-0 edge.

Meanwhile, on the defensive end, Brooke Billhimer picked off a floater along the right sideline, Morgan Shealer snatched a long hit in the left corner, and Lily Kerr came through with a fantastic stop on a breakaway in the ninth minute. After a Seahawk slipped behind the back line, the junior goalie came out of the cage and made a sliding stop to cut off the left post and send the ball spinning out of bounds.

Following Kerr's highlight, the offense punctuated the opening stanza with one final surge just before the horn sounded. On another corner, Mast inserted the ball to Abendschoen, who waited for a defender to over-pursue before rifling a pass up top to Maddison Steele. After cutting around a second Seahawk, Steele went to her backhand and punched a tracer that snuck through a crowd before finding its way to Loar.

After corralling the bouncer, Loar sank a blast inside the right post, which gave the hosts a 3-0 lead at the end of the first quarter.

In the second stanza, Christopher Newport quickly continued its assault. Starting 40 yards from the cage, Courtney Hughlett took a pass from Lainey Pratzner and pieced together a magical march forward. Kicking things off, she barreled through a defender, causing the Seahawk's stick to spin to the turf. Then, at the 25, she stopped on a dime, cut to her left, and evaded two defenders with a single move.

Snaking her way into the circle, she faced three more Seahawks, who tried to cut off the run along the edge of the arc. Unfazed by the pressure, she simply threaded a pass to Mast, who settled the roller and whipped it into the back of the cage for her second strike of the contest.

Staring at a 4-0 hole, St. Mary's orchestrated a threatening rally in the middle of the stanza. Bursting free on a 3-on-2 rush, the visitors had numbers on their side, but Christopher Newport kept calm. Billhimer disrupted a look from the top of the arc, while Shealer chased a second Seahawk into the left corner. At the same time, Nuckols caught up to the play and joined Shealer on a double-team, which walled off the left post.

Unable to find a shooting lane, the attacker tried to draw a corner with a turnaround tracer, but Shealer showed off her instincts and athleticism. Reading the situation perfectly, the freshman phenom elevated with a well-timed leap to avoid the foot foul. After the ball spun underneath Shealer, Billhimer dipped low, snatched the spinner, and fired it out of the circle to end the rally.

After entering halftime with a 4-0 lead, Christopher Newport continued to star on the defensive side over the final 30 minutes. Early on, Nuckols stole a long hit near midfield, Caroline Hughlett intercepted an aerial, and Kendall Gibson threw up a roadblock along the left sideline to keep the ball planted on the offensive end. Shortly thereafter, Julia Oleyar applied pressure on another failed clear to force an errant pass in the left corner.

Later, in the middle of the period, the Captains were equally effective while playing 10-on-11 after getting hit with a card. Shorthanded, Courtney Hughlett picked off a rainbow before Billhimer stoned a lengthy roller that nearly dribbled inside the arc. After regrouping on the defensive end, the Seahawks tried to reverse direction and work the ball towards the left sideline, but Gigi Stephan quickly stepped in and stole a pass before jump-starting an offensive rush that killed off the card.

Still looking for their first score, the visitors had another opportunity in the 42nd minute, but Ella Fallen made a slick kick save to punt away a dangerous bouncer that nearly slipped into the cage, which kept the shutout intact entering the final frame.

Remaining vigilant in the fourth quarter, Billhimer came through with a tremendous tackle near midfield to poke the ball away from an attacker before intercepting a pass that nearly sprung a breakaway in the 49th minute. Moments later, Shealer won a footrace for a ball in the right corner before Sierra Pratzner was victorious during a one-on-one duel with a Seahawk along the left sideline.

After that point, the Captains kept the ball on the offensive end. Looking to stretch the lead, Riley Iasiello had a shot blocked off a corner attempt, while Emily Evans had a gorgeous turnaround rip skip past the left pipe. Then, in the 57th minute, Norr and Erin Farley had great positioning on the interior, but the SMC goalie made a sprawling stop to erase the rally on the doorstep.

With nothing left to prove, the Captains handled one last push by the visitors. Billhimer tracked down a loose ball along the defensive 25, cut back around an attacker, and connected with Abendschoen, who was all alone along the left sideline. Eventually, Abendschoen found Lainey Pratzner, who took the ball into the offensive end to help kill off the final few seconds.

The last possession served as a fitting punctuation mark to the contest as Abendschoen, Billhimer, and Pratzner made history with their work on Wednesday. Together, the three seniors started their fifth career game in the NCAA Tournament. They joined Christopher Newport Hall of Famers Marlene Lichty and Caitlin Cahill as well as longtime legends Stephanie Bair and Brianna Milne as the only Captains in program history to start a game in the national playoffs during each of their four seasons at CNU.

Overall, the Captains held a 36-2 advantage in shots and a 13-0 lead in corners during the contest. Kerr picked up the victory with a spotless first half in the cage, while Fallen added 30 minutes of pristine relief over the final two quarters.

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