Tournament Website Hosted by UC Santa Cruz  ||  Tournament Website Hosted by C2C

SANTA CRUZ, Calif. -- The second-ranked Christopher Newport women's soccer team will begin defense of its three straight conference championships on Friday as the top-seeded Captains (14-0-2) will take on #4 Salisbury University (5-5-7) in the semifinals hosted by UC Santa Cruz. The Coast-To-Coast Athletic Conference Championship will be hosted by the Banana Slugs on Friday with a championship game set for Sunday; the Captains and Sea Gulls will kick off in game one, set for 11:00 am (PT) / 2:00 pm (ET). 

Live stats and a live video webcast will be available for all three games from California, for fans unable to attend in person. Fans attending should refer to the Facility Information on the tournament page hosted by UC Santa Cruz for information on parking -- fans will need to pay for parking through ParkMobile on Friday in the East Remote Lot located next to Lower East Field. 

Following game one featuring the Captains, the second semifinal will pit the host Banana Slugs, seeded second, against #3 Mary Washington at 2:00 pm (PT) / 5:00 pm (ET). The two advancing teams will play in the title match on Sunday at 10:00 am (PT) / 1:00 pm (ET). 

The games will be played under NCAA postseason play rules. If the score is tied at the end of regulation, the two teams will face off in a golden-goal overtime session that includes a maximum of two 10-minute periods. Following overtime, if the score remains tied, a penalty kick shootout will determine the advancing team. 

Last season, Christopher Newport won 2-0 over Mary Washington in the semifinal round before capturing the third straight C2C title with a penalty kick victory over Santa Cruz following a scoreless draw. CNU is 5-0-1 in C2C Tournament action under head coach Jamie Gunderson since 2021 and 11-1-1 in conference tournament play since the 2015 season. That run includes six conference championships in the last seven seasons resulting in a program-record seven straight NCAA Tournament appearances. 

This year, CNU has extended the NCAA Division III record unbeaten streak to 83 games (74-0-9) with a fourth consecutive regular season without a loss. The Captains have won back-to-back games by a score of 9-2 combined since a scoreless draw against Washington and Lee ended a 12-game winning streak in mid-October. The CNU defense also registered the second longest shutout streak in program history with seven straight games without a goal surrendered and CNU has allowed only six goals through 16 games this season. 

Offensively, C2C Player of the Year Hanna Heaton has led the way with 36 points on 63 shots this year. Four Captains are in double figures in the scoring column as veterans Corinne Kulik (15 pts) and Emma Ricci (14 pts) are joined by sophomore Lexi Hazelgrove (12 pts) to pace the attack. The depth of offense has been on display all season with 14 different goal scorers and 18 players logging at least one point for the Captains this year. 

Defensively, sophomore goalkeeper Amy Sidaway hauled in first team All-League honors with the C2C's finest goals-against average at 0.38. Playing in front of her is two-time C2C Defensive Player of the Year Reanna Slater alongside Nyah Savage and Bella DiTommaso. Savage has started all 83 games of her career and DiTommaso has stepped in nicely to help the CNU defense hold opponents to just over four shots per game this year. 

Salisbury enters the matchup featuring a defense that has surrendered either one or fewer goals in 14 of their 17 games this season. Victimized by a struggling offense, the Sea Gulls have settled for seven ties this year including four 0-0 finishes. First team All-Conference defender Autumn Conway leads the defense while Hayle Foreman has done the bulk of the work in goal with a 1.10 GAA and an 82 percent save percentage.