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NEWPORT NEWS, Va. -- Making the team's eighth straight NCAA Tournament appearance and 10th in the last 11 years, the second-ranked Christopher Newport women's soccer team will open postseason action at home on Saturday, November 16 at 1:00 p.m. The Captains (15-1-2) will take on the champions of the CUNYAC in John Jay College (10-5-1) for the first of two first round games played at Captains Field with the winners advancing to Sunday's second round at 3:00 p.m. 

Ticket prices for postseason games are $10 for adults and $5 for children and seniors. CNU students will be admitted free of charge with valid ID, courtesy of the CNU Department of Athletics.  Tickets will go on sale one hour prior to the first game each day.

In the fourth season under conference coach of the year Jamie Gunderson, the Captains have compiled an impressive 12-0-2 record in the NCAA Tournament. CNU has advanced to the second round or deeper in each of the previous seven trips to the Division III Championship including a Final Four appearance in 2018 and National Championship in 2021.

Heading into the postseason this year, the Captains will be looking to do something they haven't needed to do since 2019 and that is bounce back after a loss. Over the last four seasons, CNU put together an unprecedented streak of 84 consecutive games without a loss before suffering the first setback in Coach Gunderson's career last week in the Coast-To-Coast Athletic Conference Championship, 2-0, to UC Santa Cruz. The senior class, and three fifth-year seniors exercising their CoVID-19 waiver this year, have joined Coach Gunderson in compiling one of the finest four-year records in the history of NCAA Division III (74-1-9 for a winning percentage of .924). 

Those three fifth-year seniors -- Corinne Kulik, Emma Ricci, and Nyah Savage -- have each made their indelible marks on the program. Kulik has scored 14 goals, including four-game winners, with a career-high six scores this season. Ricci is closing in on the top-ten all-time scorers in program history with 60 points including 19 goals and 22 assists in 84 games played. And Savage has started all 85 games in her career to rank third all-time at Christopher Newport as one of the most reliable defenders in program lore. 

This weekend, the aforementioned trio will likely play a big part in the Captains' game plan against the Bloodhounds. It will be the second time that CNU has faced John Jay all-time with both matchups coming in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament. Last time, the Captains earned a 6-0 win in the 2022 tournament on a neutral field at Montclair State. Kulik scored a goal in that game while junior Molly Seventko added an assist. 

Leading the Captains this season has been C2C Offensive Player of the Year Hanna Heaton with the seventh most points scored in a single season all-time at CNU. Her 37 points have come on 12 goals and 13 assists as she has tied the program record for helpers in a single year. Ricci (17 pts) and Kulik (15 pts) are second and third on the scoring chart while sophomore Lexi Hazelgrove has poured in 14 points on six goals and two assists this season as well. 

Defensively, Christopher Newport leans on two-time C2C Defensive Player of the Year Reanna Slater, who has started all 18 games at center back. Savage, who has logged a team-high 1,601 minutes, joins her on the back line along with sophomore Bella DiTommaso. The trio, with defensive mid Kyleigh Gough, have helped lock down 12 shutouts and boast a 0.44 goals-against average this season. Sophomore goalkeeper Amy Sidaway has started 16 of the 18 games this year, allowing seven goals and making 22 saves. 

John Jay earned the postseason trip by downing #2 Lehman College, 4-0, to cap a nine-game winning streak heading into Saturday's action. The four-time conference champions are 10-5-1 this season with a perfect 5-0-0 mark in conference play. Standout Olivia Boucher won the conference player of the week award six times and leads the Bloodhounds with 54 points on 24 goals and six assists this season. Emma Fisher, Lucia Giangaspero, and Mikayla Schoch each have added 20 points for the high-scoring offense. 

The winning team will advance to face either Vassar College or St. Mary's College of Maryland as the other first round matchup set to take eachother on at Captains Field. Kickoff for game two is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. on Saturday.