Postgame Press Conference  ||  Photo Gallery

LAS VEGAS, Nev. -- A group of graduating seniors will wrap their careers as one of the most accomplished classes in Christopher Newport athletics history after appearing in the 2024 NCAA Division III National Semifinals against top-ranked Washington University in St. Louis (22-0-2) on Friday afternoon. Playing at Peter Johann Memorial Field on the campus of UNLV, the Captains battled to a 0-0 draw at halftime but surrendered three second-half goals to the Bears and concluded their season with an overall record over 19-2-2. 

The Captains suffered just the second loss since head coach Jamie Gunderson took over the program prior to the 2021 season. The senior class, including three players executing their fifth-year waiver due to the COViD-19 pandemic, wrapped up one of the most storied tenures in CNU Athletics history. After winning a national championship in the 2021 season, the group compiled an overall record of 79-2-9 (.928) while playing for the Captains women's soccer team and became just the third team in any sport at CNU to reach the national quarterfinals in four consecutive seasons. Fifth-year senior Emma Ricci, graduate students Nyah Savage and Corinne Kulik, alongside seniors Hannah Calliott, Ellie Cox, Jaya Daniel, Maddie Rusinko, and Reanna Slater make up the talented group of graduating seniors that join only 2009-12 CNU Volleyball and 2021-24 CNU Men's Lacrosse as classes to reach the final eight every year of their career. 

In Friday afternoon's game, played in front of an outstanding crowd that included hundreds of CNU fans making the journey across the country to the Silver State, the Captains opened the game with control of the offensive movement for the first 15 minutes of the matchup. Junior Hanna Heaton opened up the aggressive offensive play with the first shot of the game mere minutes into the contest. Minutes later, Ellie Cox recovered from a giveaway by tracking down the Bears attacker and ripping the ball away to set up the next run down the field for CNU. 

Just ten minutes into the contest, Reanna Slater played a ball over the top down the right side to Emma Ricci in the corner. The Winchester, Va. native played a ball into the middle, finding Corinne Kulik on the receiving end for a one-touch shot in the box, but the attempt was deflected wide by a defender. 

After the initial surge, the Bears rallied to take control of the offensive action and forced sophomore goalkeeper Amy Sidaway to stand tall between the pipes for Christopher Newport. Stand tall she did, repeatedly securing the ball on attempts including her first two saves in the next five minutes. The first attempt trickled into her hand off the foot of Meryl McKenna and the second, 15 minutes into the game, was a line drive from the left side caught by Sidaway. 

The best chance of the first half for WashU came on a three-vs-three break that saw the Bears get a runner through the defense on the right side. Slater showed off her All-American prowess by racing back to challenge the shot in the box and her slide tackle eliminated the would-be close range attempt from inside the box. 

With 25 minutes expired, the Captains got the ball at the feet of All-American Hanna Heaton on the left side and the Gloucester, Va. native put on a clinic up the field. The C2C Offensive Player of the Year drew plenty of atetntion, taking on and eluding three different Bears defenders before it was played out of bounds once she was triple teamed on the sideline. Junior Molly Seventko then injected a shot of adrenaline into the Captains offense, challenging the ball and her Bears counterpart on the sideline for the first several possessions after entering the contest. 

Late in the half, Sidaway punched away two more chances on back-to-back tries on corner kicks to help secure the scoreless opening half. 

The Bears converted twice in the first five minutes of the second half to take a 2-0 lead. Again on a corner kick, the Bears scored the first goal of the match when Sidaway knocked away the pass across the middle and Lexi Hazelgrove made an outstanding sliding clearance on the first shot attempt. Unfortunately, the ball dropped right in front of Kate Martin at the top of the box and a well-struck shot snuck through traffic and into the upper ninety. 

Less than two minutes later, The Captains surrendered a second goal on a breakaway by Olivia Clemons. She played through the defense herself and then got a touch under Sidaway to give the Bears a 2-0 lead. The final tally of the match would come in the 57th minute, approximately nine minutes later when Cami Colpitts played a shot off the left post and in from the top of the right corner of the box. 

Facing a 3-goal deficit for the first time in Gunderson's career, the Captains worked to adjust and send numbers forward, looking to get on the board. Seventko went on a midfield run with about 17 minutes remaining after another dynamic pass from Slater. Seventko spun on her defender and had 40 yards to get to the corner. With a second defender tracking, the junior laced a beautiful cross into the box, but the WashU keeper was there to snare the ball out of the air. 

The Captains looked ready to celebrate their first goal of the match just a few minutes later when Emma Ricci played a touch off the tip of her toes over the goalkeeper and in with a high-arcing finish off a feed from Hanna Heaton. Unfortunately, the officials ruled she had snuck offsides by a hair and the goal was nullified. 

The chances kept coming as Kulik dented the crossbar with a mammoth liner and sophomore Alex Devers put two attempts on frame in the final ten minutes. 

The score would remain unchanged, however, and the Captains dropped a 3-0 decision. WashU advances to the NCAA Division III National Championship Game on Sunday against the winner between Emory and William Smith, who kicked off at 6:00 p.m.

Six Captains played full time in the contest including the entire back line. Sophomore Bella DiTommaso joined Savage and Slater. Also playing full time was Cox, Heaton, and Hazelgrove. 

When asked about the accomplishments of her senior class and the program over the last four years, senior Ellie Cox responded:

"Pretty cool, I mean. I was thinking about this weekend and how successful we have been and how lucky we are to be in this position. The last two years, losing in the Elite Eight, sucked, and it felt like a big loss. But we talked about at the end of both of those seasons that to be disappointed in losing in the Elite Eight is a really huge accomplishment," Cox continued. "Because not many people get to that point and we had a lot to be proud of, even in those moments. This, even moreso, Final Four teams -- that's really, really tough to do. And for us to have gone to the Elite Eight four years in a row is something that no one gets to do. Really, really special group and I'm very happy to have done it with these people, and I am really, really grateful."

Senior defender Nyah Savage added: 

"I guess one word to describe it would be like a dynasty. Like Ellie said, to get to the Elite Eight all four years of our career is just unbelievable. It's not something many people get to do so I think taking a big picture on it is just gratitude, and mindfulness, and being thankful for being here with my best friends."

Christopher Newport closes the season with a 19-2-2 overall record and is now 16-1-2 over the last four years in NCAA Tournament games.