BRIDGEWATER, Va. -- The Christopher Newport women's soccer team returned to the field for the first time in two weeks and picked up right where they left off with another shutout victory. The win proved a historic victory for head coach
Jamie Gunderson who secured his 100th career win as head coach for Christopher Newport, who improved to 7-1-3 on the season. Taking on Bridgewater College (10-2-2) on the road, the Captains scored one goal in each half while the defense stymied the Eagles for 90 minutes and earned the eighth clean sheet of the year in a 2-0 win.
Since the inception of NCAA women's soccer in 1982 there have been 873 head coaches combined between NCAA Division I, II, and III to reach the 100-win plateau in his or her career. Among them, Gunderson became just the ninth coach in NCAA history to win 100 of his first 120 games coached and is the fourth fastest, in terms of games played, to reach 100 wins at the NCAA Division III level. The win on Saturday improved him to 100-5-15 for a career winning percentage of 89.6 percent, which ranks as the second-highest winning percentage among active NCAA coaches.
Fastest to 100 Coaching Victories in NCAA Women's Soccer History
1. Anson Dorrance (North Carolina - NCAA DI) - 108 games (100-5-3; .940)*
2. Jeff Bailey (Franklin Pierce - NCAA DII) - 109 games (100-7-2; .927)
3. Danny Sanchez (Metro State - NCAA DII) - 110 games (100-5-5; .932)
4. Scott Frey (Messiah - NCAA DIII) - 114 games (100-8-6; .904)
5. Dave Dilanni (Grand Valley State - NCAA DII) - 117 games (100-13-4; .872)
6. Bob Barnes (Ohio Wesleyan - NCAA DIII) - 118 games (100-17-1; .852)
T7. Joe Russo (TCNJ- NCAA DIII) - 119 games (100-9-10); .882)
T7. Chuck Sekyra (Seattle Pacific - NCAA DII) - 119 games (100-10-9; .878)
9.
Jamie Gunderson (Chris. Newport - NCAA DIII) - 120 games (100-5-15; .896)
10. Paula Wilkins (Penn State - NCAA DI) 121 games - (100-14-7; .855)
*Anson Dorrance won his 100th career game in 110 games (100-10-0; .909) but the record above reflects his first 100 wins in NCAA play. He coached his first three years at North Carolina from 1979-81 when the NCAA did not sponsor women's soccer
The Captains were forced to weather a first-half rush by the home team midway through the first half but senior goalkeeper
Amy Sidaway was up to the task with a pair of saves in the 24th and 30th minute of action. The momentum shifted, though, as Christopher Newport turned to junior
Anaya Lozano for the game's first goal in the 35th minute.
After taking a 1-0 lead on Lozano's strike, the Captains outshot the Eagles by a 2:1 ratio the rest of the match with a 10-5 advantage in total attempts. The disparity came through in the second half as Christopher Newport ripped nine shots from the field and put three of them on frame.
The lead would double in the 71st minute when rookie
Caelyn LaFlamme found the back of the net for her second goal of the season. The freshman took over the season scoring lead for the Captains with six points on two goals and two assists so far this season.
Lozano's goal was her first career gamewinner and secong goal of the season for the Captains. Sidaway logged three more saves to improve to 7-1-3 on the season with her eighth shutout of the year. With the solo clean sheet, Sidaway now has 41 career shutouts while also participating in nine more combo shutouts over the course of her career; that means that 50 of her 69 career games played in goal for the Captains have been shutouts. With the performance, she moves up into a tie for 14th all-time in NCAA Division III.
Putting in another stalwart effort in front of her was the back line of
Catie Borsuk,
Nora Cook,
Bella DiTommaso, and
Malayah Warner as the quartet all played full time in the shutout. In the midfield,
Avery Spell and
Lexi Hazelgrove helped bottle up the opposing attack as Bridgewater managed just three total shots on goal.
In addition to the win adding to Gunderson's national relevance, his 100th career win is a milestone at Christopher Newport as well. He becomes just the second women's soccer coach to reach the century mark in the win column and trails all time leader Dan Weiler by just 13 wins. Across all sports, Gunderson becomes the 27th coach in CNU lore to score 100 victories on the Captains' sideline.
The Captains will return to action on Tuesday, October 20 as they host Southern Virginia University at Captains Field. Kickoff against the Knights is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.
