Complete List of 2025 All-Region Picks

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- For the fifth consecutive year the Christopher Newport women's soccer team boasts the maximum number of All-Region selections as the Captains collected five certificates on Tuesday morning when the United Soccer Coaches announced its annual honorees. Senior midfielder Hanna Heaton led the way with a first team nod while junior defender Bella DiTommaso was named a second team selection. Earning third team recognition were junior goalkeeper Amy Sidaway, senior defender Kyleigh Gough, and junior midfielder Lexi Hazelgrove. 

In each of his five seasons guiding the women's soccer team, head coach Jamie Gunderson has boasted a maximum five All-Region honorees including this year when Heaton and Sidaway joined an exclusive group of former Captains as three-time honorees. Gough, Hazelgrove, and DiTommaso earned their first career All-Region selection, expanding an ever-growing list of now 31 all-time All-Region selections.

In just three years as a Captain, Heaton and Sidaway have earned All-Region status in each season to join an elite list of Captains to accomplish the feat three or more times. Heaton joins Ellie Cox, Sarah Smith, Riley Cook, and Gabby Gillis as the only three-time first team All-Region picks while Sidaway adds to a group that includes all the aforementioned names while adding Ashleigh Dota, Victoria Perry, and Keiley McCarthy as three-time honorees. Additionally, Sidaway is the first goalkeeper in program history to garner All-Region accolades three or more times. 

Heaton capped her illustrious three-year tenure in the Royal Blue and Silver uniform with another outstanding senior season in 2025. She was named the Coast-To-Coast Athletic Conference Offensive Player of the Year for the second straight season and is a three-time first team All-Conference pick. The 2024 first team All-American led the nationally-ranked Captains offense with 21 points on eight goals and five assists in 2025, including a team-leading four game-winning goals. 

She caught fire in the second half of the season, scoring four goals and two assists in the final seven games including winners against Swarthmore, Methodist, and Salisbury. The game-winning goal against the Sea Gulls came in the Coast-to-Coast Athletic Conference Tournament semifinals and she also assisted on the game-winning goal in overtime against UC Santa Cruz in the C2C Championship. 

While Heaton led the offense, junior back Bella DiTommaso was the veteran anchor to an otherwise inexperienced defense in 2025. Despite starting alongside two freshmen in 2025, DiTommaso and the rest of the back line once again elevated the Captains' national reputation defensively. CNU earned 13 shutouts in 19 games played and posted a 0.37 goals-against average, ranking as one of the top-five single season marks in program history. 

She led the Captains in minutes played, logging 98.55 percent of possible minutes as she appeared in 1,690 out of nearly 1715 minutes for CNU this year. The defense held opponents to just 7.5 shots per game including a paltry 3.3 shots on-goal per contest. While locking down opponents defensively, DiTommaso also played a big role in the CNU offense with six points on two goals and two assists. 

Prior to earning third team All-Region honors in goal following her junior season, Sidaway was named a second team All-Region pick in 2023 and a first team All-Region honoree in 2024. The Captains' netminder surrendered just seven goals all season long, ranking 10th nationally in goals-against average with a 0.38 mark that ranks as the third best single-season mark in program history. Her .883 save percentage is the fourth-highest number in program lore and ranked in the top-20 in Division III this season. 

Sidaway ranks second among active Division III players in career shutout percentage (.569) and broke the Christopher Newport career record for clean sheets with her 33rd shutout when CNU blanked UC Santa Cruz in the Coast-To-Coast Athletic Conference Championship game. She has moved up to third all-time at CNU in wins (47), third in save percentage (.853), and first all-time in career goals-against average (0.41). Her GAA also ranks fourth among active NCAA goalkeepers at any level. 

Also earning third team All-Region honors as a member of the CNU defense was senior Kyleigh Gough. The three-time All-Conference player moved to center back in 2025 and helped CNU register one of the finest defensive seasons in program history. Gough started all 19 games and played 1,589 minutes during the season including full time in eight games during the year.

Gough was an asset on both sides of the field as the veteran scored two goals during the year and both held up as game-winning goals. She scored the first goal against Roanoke in a 2-0 win on September 17 and also lifted CNU to a win against Catholic with a goal on September 24. Her goal against the Maroons came on a penalty kick, marking her fourth career finish from the penalty spot, ranking second all-time at CNU. 

Finally, Lexi Hazelgrove wrapped up a breakout junior season with an All-Region certificate after helping lead the CNU offense. The junior midfielder blitzed out to a hot start in 2025 with two goals and an assist in the first three games of the year. She finished out the season with eight points on three goals and two helpers. Hazelgrove was one of the top offensive weapons for CNU and finished third on the team in total attempts from the field with 41 shots. 

While she lifted the attack, Hazelgrove was also an essential asset defensively in the middle of the field. Her physical play helped CNU limit opposing offenses throughout the season. She played in over 1,400 minutes in the demanding position, averaging over 78 minutes played per game. 

Christopher Newport captured the 2025 Coast-To-Coast Athletic Conference Championship for the team's fourth conference title in five seasons. CNU extended the team's NCAA Tournament appearance streak to nine consecutive seasons and finished out the year with an impressive 14-2-3 overall record.