Tournament Website

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. -- For the third consecutive season, the Christopher Newport women's soccer team will host the second weekend of the NCAA Division III Women's Soccer Championship as the sectional round will open up at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday morning. The second-ranked Captains (17-1-2) will face sixth-ranked Misericordia University (19-1-2) in the first of two games at Captains Field on Saturday before 18th-ranked NYU (12-2-6) and 18th-ranked Johns Hopkins (17-2-3) face off in the other Round of 16 action, at 1:30 p.m.

Ticket prices will be $10 for adults and $5 for children and seniors. Fans unable to attend in person can catch all the action online with a live video stream presented on NCAA.com and live stats through the CNUsports.com website. Links to both can be found on the women's soccer schedule or at the top of this page. 

Christopher Newport is coming off a dominant opening weekend with 16 goals scored in the first two rounds of the tournament. The Captains defeated John Jay College, 12-0, and added a 4-0 victory against Vassar College to advance to sectional round. It will be the first ever matchup between Misericordia and Christopher Newport. Under head coach Mark Stauffer, Misericordia is making the team's 17th NCAA Tournament appearance and seventh trip to the sectional round. Most recently, the Cougars appeared in the 2022 sectionals where they reached the national quarterfinals and fell to Johns Hopkins, 2-0. 

The Captains are 4-0-2 in sectional play over the last three seasons. Misericordia represents the fifth different team CNU has faced in that stretch. Playing under head coach Jamie Gunderson for the last four seasons, Christopher Newport has posted an impressive 14-0-2 record in NCAA Tournament play while accumulating an unprecedented 77-1-9 overall record in his tenure. 

On the field this season, C2C Offensive Player of the Year Hanna Heaton has stolen the headlines with the fourth-highest scoring performance in program history. The Gloucester, Va. native has scored 43 points on 13 goals and a program-record 17 assists to trail only CNU legend Riley Cook for single season scoring. She has played a role in 30 of CNU's 64 goals scored this season for an offense that ranks 18th nationally in scoring with 3.20 goals per game. 

CNU also features a top-ranked defense that ranks 12th nationally in goals-against average with a 0.40 mark. Sophomore goalkeeper Amy Sidaway is 14th in both GAA and shutouts this year while also taking over the top spot in all of NCAA women's soccer among active players in goals-against average. Playing in front of her, senior All-American defender Reanna Slater has paired with senior Nyah Savage and sophomore Bella DiTommaso to limit the opposing attack this season. In 20 games played, CNU foes have managed just eight goals and an average of only 4.2 shots per game. 

Misericordia will counter with one of the top-ranked teams in Division III all season as the Cougars are riding a nine-game winning streak includinga  MAC Freedom Championship over Stevens, 1-0. In the NCAA Tournament, the Cougars disposed of Grove City and Ithaca by matching 3-1 finals. Misericordia ranks in the top-25 nationally ins coring (3.09) and goals-against average (0.500). 

Leading the offense has been MAC Freedom Offensive Player of the Year Julia Beck while first teamer Emma Sweitzer has also been exceptional. Defensively, Brenna Field hauled in Co-Defensive Player of the Year plaudits from the league. Sweitzer is the team's leading scorer with 35 points on 16 goals and 3 assists while Madison Brdaric has added 20 points on five goals and ten assists.  

Following the first matchup of the day, a pair of teams both ranked No. 18 in the latest United Soccer Coaches Top 25 will take the pitch at Captains Field for a right to play in the 2024 NCAA Regional Championship. The NCAA National Quarterfinals will be played at 1:00 p.m. on Sunday afternoon between the two advancing teams.