KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- With another win on the ledger, the Christopher Newport women's soccer team improved to 7-0-2 on the season and held onto their spot at No. 3 in the nation according to the United Soccer Coaches Division III Top 25 poll. The Captains will travel to Marymount University (3-5-2) on Wednesday evening at 5:00 p.m.

Messiah maintained its spot atop the rankings while Emory is slotted in at No. 2 with matching 9-0-0 records. The Captains are just ahead of No. 4 Case Western Reserve, whom CNU tied earlier this year, and WashU (8-0-1) at No. 5. 

The matchup in Arlington will be played at Long Bridge Park as CNU will take on Marymount for the 12th time. Christopher Newport is 11-0-0 all-time against the Saints, including a 4-0-0 record on the road. 

The game will be the 100th in the coaching career of Jamie Gunderson, who has compiled an overall record of 86-2-11 in his first 99 games. Gunderson, who will not qualify for the NCAA record books until the conclusion of his fifth season at the helm in 2025, has an unprecedented winning percentage of 92.42 percent which would rank as the highest in NCAA women's soccer history. 

This season, CNU has won three of the last four games with the exception being a 1-1 draw against then No. 15 Washington and Lee. The Captains have been led by a dominant defense that has surrendered just three goals through the first nine games while posting six shutouts. Junior goalkeeper Amy Sidaway has been between the pipes to start all nine games and boasts a 0.34 goals-against average with an .893 save percentage. 

Playing in front of Sidaway has been a young defense including freshmen Addy Hennessy, Nora Cook, and Malayah Warner. The trio is joined by veteran Bella DiTommaso, who leads the team in minutes played with 802 of the 810 possible this season. The back line has helped shut down opponents while allowing just 29 total shots on-goal for an average of just over three per game. 

Offensively, the Christopher Newport attack has been balanced so far this season with four different players chipping in three goals apiece. Eight Captains have at least one goal and 15 players have at least one point this season as contributions have come from a variety of options. Among the leading scorers are Hanna Heaton and Molly Seventko with three goals and three assists while Lexi Hazelgrove has added three goals and two assists. Alex Devers rounds out the quartet with three goals and six points this year. 

Marymount opened the year with wins over Shenandoah and Goucher, and have since picked up another victory against Delaware Valley. The Saints are on a four-game skid coming off a 3-1 loss to Lynchburg on September 27. Nicole Alvarado scored against the Hornets and is tied for the team scoring lead with two goals and two assists. Arianna Blanco is the other Marymount player at the top of the scoring column with a team-high three goals. 

Following the road trip to Marymount, the Captains will welcome Mary Washington on Saturday, October 4 at 7:00 p.m. for the only other matchup this week. 
 

National - Poll 4 - September 30, 2025

Rank	School	Prev	W-L-T
1	Messiah University	1	9-0-0
2	Emory University	2	9-0-0
3	Christopher Newport University	3	7-0-2
4	Case Western Reserve University	4	9-0-1
5	Washington University (Mo.)	5	8-0-1
6	Tufts University	6	6-0-1
7	University of Chicago	8	8-0-1
8	Pomona-Pitzer Colleges	9	7-0-1
9	Middlebury College	10	7-0-2
10	Brandeis University	11	6-0-3
11	Misericordia University	7	7-2-0
12	Massachusetts Institute of Technology	12	8-1-0
13	University of Rochester	15	5-0-3
14	Williams College	13	5-1-2
15	Washington & Lee University	16	6-2-1
16	Carnegie Mellon University	20	8-1-1
17	Swarthmore College	19	6-1-2
18	Rowan University	18	6-1-0
19	Loras College	24	7-0-1
20	Wesleyan University	21	5-1-3
21	California Lutheran University	22	0-0-0
22	Johns Hopkins University	25	6-3-1
23	Amherst College	23	5-1-2
24	Rochester Institute of Technology	NR	5-0-4
25	New York University	NR	8-1-1

Records shown are through games of September 28, 2025

Also receiving votes: Vassar College, St. Catherine University, Illinois Institute of Technology, Claremont-McKenna-Harvey Mudd-Scripps Colleges, William Smith College,