Williams: Live Stats // Video Stream
New Paltz: Live Stats // Video Stream
WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. -- Celebrating Fall Break with a lengthy road trip, the top-ranked Christopher Newport field hockey team will head north for a pair of games as the Captains travel to No. 11 Williams for a noon test on Sunday at Williamson Field before taking on New Paltz on Tuesday at 11 a.m. at North Turf Field.
Entering the trip, CNU sits at 12-0 on the season, including 7-0 on the road. Meanwhile, Williams is currently 6-3 overall, while New Paltz is 7-4.
The Captains are coming off of a 2-1 double-overtime victory against No. 3 Salisbury on Wednesday. Against the Sea Gulls,
Avery Mast landed the opening blow in regulation before
Caroline Hughlett capitalized on a 2-on-2 breakaway alongside
Riley Iasiello to punctuate the festivities with 0.1 seconds left in the second overtime.
In addition to the offensive heroes,
Lily Kerr made five saves, including a lunging stop on a bullet in the 58th minute. Additionally, Mast,
Courtney Hughlett, and
Ellie Nuckols all blocked shots to help stymie the Sea Gulls, who entered the game ranked 14th in the NCAA in scoring offense with a 3.70 goals-per-game average.
With their wins over No. 3 Salisbury and No. 5 Johns Hopkins, the 2025 Captains became just the second team in school history to knock off a pair of top-five opponents in a single campaign. The 2019 squad also accomplished that feat after upending Vassar and Johns Hopkins during the regular season.
Remarkably, in this year's victories over Salisbury and Johns Hopkins, Christopher Newport actually played more freshmen than seniors. While Kerr and
Emily Evans have provided a veteran presence throughout the season, first-year standouts
Kate Engle,
Brylee Johnston, and
Hailey Ward all made contributions in both of the team's top-five triumphs. Fellow freshman
Emma Weber also had a sustained run in the win over the Blue Jays as well.
So far this season, CNU leads the country with nine shutouts while boasting an NCAA-best 0.39 goals-against-average. The team also sits 17th in the nation in scoring offense with a 3.58 goals-per-game rate.
Williams kicks off its weekend with a noon showdown against No. 14 Wesleyan on Saturday before hosting the Captains just 24 hours later. The back-to-back battles continue a challenging schedule for the Ephs, who have already beaten No. 7 Tufts and No. 21 Amherst. The team has also dropped one-goal decisions against No. 5 Bates, No. 6 Babson, and No. 8 Bowdoin.
Despite the difficult slate, Williams still sits seventh in the country in scoring defense with a 0.65 goals-against-average. On an individual level, Ellie Smith is 27th in the NCAA with a stellar .818 save percentage. Meanwhile, Kiki Higgins leads the Ephs with 17 points, including seven goals, while Pilar Torres has four goals and four assists.
Sunday's bout will be the first meeting between CNU and Williams in program history.
New Paltz has also squared off against several nationally-ranked foes this year. Earlier in the season, the Hawks fell to No. 12 Endicott, 3-2, and No. 9 Stevens, 2-1. However, the team has regrouped in recent weeks and is riding a four-game winning streak entering a Saturday showdown with Cortland at 1 p.m.
So far this season, Miranda Britton leads New Paltz with eight goals, while she and Rachel Tama are tied for the team-lead with 18 points. Tama has also handed out eight assists, which is tied for the 10th-most in the NCAA. Meanwhile, between the pipes, Gail Comiskey has started the bulk of the games while sporting a 1.26 goals-against-average and .809 save percentage.
CNU and New Paltz previously met on October 19, 2024 with the Captains notching a 4-2 win in Newport News. Mast, Nuckols, and both Hughlett twins scored for the victors, while Kerr finished with nine saves. Comiskey also had a stop for the Hawks, and current senior Meghan Gunning chipped in with an assist.
After wrapping up the road trip, Christopher Newport will return to action on October 22 with a 6 p.m. bout against St. Mary's (Md.) at Jennings Family Stadium.
---ISH---
