ST. MARY'S CITY, Md. -- Wrapping up a month-long road trip, the third-ranked Christopher Newport field hockey team added a fitting punctuation mark to its lengthy tour of the East Coast as the Captains polished off their fourth straight shutout with a 4-0 victory against St. Mary's (Md.) on Monday evening at Jamie L. Roberts Stadium.
Headlining the action, Maryland native
Emma Weber returned to her home state and collected her second career multi-goal effort after scoring the game's first two tallies. Later,
Ella Elliott chipped in with her first career strike before
Calli Martin capped off the festivities with a dagger in the fourth quarter.
Along with the offensive standouts, the defense limited St. Mary's to just three shots, all of which came in the fourth quarter.
Anna Mosciano handled the only on-target attempt of the contest while helping the squad complete its ninth shutout of the year.
With the victory, Christopher Newport improved to 11-1 on the season, while St. Mary's dropped to 7-7. The contest also wrapped up a four-state, seven-game road trip for the Captains, which saw the squad outscore its opposition by a remarkable 28-1 margin over the past month.
Early on, CNU set the tone with relentless work on the defensive side. On a clear attempt by St. Mary's,
Lindsey Loar stayed in the face of a Seahawk and pestered the defender with persistent pressure, which forced the hosts to change course and try to flee up the opposite boundary. However,
Gigi Stephan quickly threw up a roadblock on the right side and fed the ball back to the attack.
Later, the visitors remained vigilant across the entire turf.
Kelly Via snagged a long bouncer near the circle,
Kendall Gibson stole a feed at midfield, and
Caroline Hughlett intercepted an aerial along the offensive 25 to keep a tight lid on the opposition.
Meanwhile, the attack pounded away. Following a corner in the fifth minute,
Courtney Hughlett had a rocket blocked from the right side, while Loar and
Ellie Nuckols had on-target tracers brushed aside along the left pipe. Moments later,
Avery Mast had two missiles kicked away by the keeper.
In the waning minutes of the period,
Courtney Hughlett had a gorgeous backhand swallowed on the doorstep, and
Hailey Ward rifled a one-timer from the top of the circle, but it was punted away as well.
Still searching for their first goal early in the second stanza, the Captains found an opening in the 16th minute. Kicking things off, Mast dropped a 30-yard aerial over four defenders. On the receiving end,
Caroline Hughlett snagged the feed in the left corner before bolting inside the circle.
After scooting past a defender, Hughlett punched the ball to Weber, who spun and whistled a shot between a defender and the right post for her first tally of the contest.
Just over a minute later, the visitors came back for more. Once again, Mast started the rally as the junior launched a liner from the left side of the zone. The ball bounced off a defender and found its way to Loar, who was stationed on the interior.
Pulling to her right, Loar created some space before drilling a pass to Weber, who secured the feed on the right side of the circle. In tight quarters, the sophomore star settled the pass and squeezed a dart between two defenders and the goalie for her second straight tally.
Holding a 2-0 edge, Christopher Newport never let the hosts gain any traction on the other side of the turf. Immediately after setting up the second goal, Loar picked off a pass on St. Mary's ensuing surge to flip the field again. Then, Weber plucked a roller from a Seahawk along the center stripe and forced an errant pass near the right sideline.
Later in the first half,
Willow Yost stole the ball from a pair of midfielders on a failed clear, and Stephan played down a floater along the defensive 25. Gibson also swiped the ball and spun around a Seahawk while pinned to the left boundary to help keep St. Mary's off the board entering halftime.
Following the break, the Captains continued to quiet the opposition. On a rare trip past midfield in the 34th minute, the hosts were stymied by Mast. Positioned along the right sideline, she won a race for a roller that deflected off the stick of a Seahawk. Although two opponents tried to keep her pegged to the boundary, she sidestepped the first player before chipping the ball over the stick of the second midfielder. Then, after gaining a little wiggle room, she lofted a rainbow to Weber, who cleared the defensive end.
After that point, St. Mary's only made three brief appearances on the offensive side during a suffocating 10-minute stretch by the Captains. During SMC's brief excursions, Via stamped out a run along the 25,
Kate Engle secured a bouncer near the center line, and Martin helped wall off a rush inside the circle to keep the opposition off the scoreboard.
Then, in the 41st minute, CNU stretched its lead on the other end. On a penalty corner, Nuckols inserted the ball to Via, who smashed a screamer that split the wickets of the keeper. Although one defender was still between the ball and the cage, Elliott raced in and made a lunging stab to punch the rocket around the Seahawk for her first career goal.
With her work on that play, Nuckols inched closer to solidifying her spot as the top inserter in program history. It was the 19th time in her career that she kicked off a successful corner, moving her one away from matching former legend Madison Doss' program record of 20 set from 2014-17.
Holding a 3-0 lead at the end of the third quarter, the Captains set their sights on another shutout with more tremendous work in the fourth frame. Early on,
Morgan Shealer sealed off the circle and forced an attacker to retreat, which allowed Ward to swoop in and steal the ball. Shortly thereafter, St. Mary's secured its first corner of the game, but Engle got her stick on the ensuing shot before Mosciano used her blocker to bat the deflection out of the air.
Although the hosts earned a second attempt, Engle challenged an initial shooter at the top of the circle before Via pressured another Seahawk into an errant rip from the left side.
Later in the stanza, St. Mary's picked up one final corner, but
Caroline Hughlett confronted a shooter and caused the subsequent blast to spin past the right post.
Following the defensive work, CNU slapped one more goal on the board in the 59th minute. Perched 40 yards from the cage,
Courtney Hughlett threaded a pinpoint pass that went untouched while spiraling past three defenders before landing on
Isabel Tamayo's stick in front of the cage.
With the goalie and a defender on her back, Tamayo shuffled the ball through the crowd to Martin, who immediately hammered home her third goal of the season along the left pipe.
Overall, Christopher Newport held a 33-3 advantage in shots and a 14-3 edge in corners.
Ella Fallen earned the win with 45 minutes of pristine work before Mosciano closed out the festivities with a perfect fourth quarter.
The Captains will return to action on Saturday when they host Saint Francis at 3 p.m.
---ISH---
