Live Stats // Video Stream
NEWPORT NEWS, Va. -- The third-ranked Christopher Newport field hockey team will open up the NCAA Tournament on Saturday at 11 a.m. when the Captains host No. 13 Ursinus in a second-round battle at Jennings Family Stadium.
Entering the weekend, CNU sits at 14-1 on the season, including 5-0 at home. Meanwhile, Ursinus is 15-5 with a 5-3 mark on the road.
Following Christopher Newport's bout with the Bears, Jennings Family Stadium will also feature a showdown between No. 12 York (Pa.) and Penn State Harrisburg at 2 p.m. The winning teams on Saturday will then face each other on Sunday at 1 p.m. with a spot in the Final Four on the line.
Single-day tickets for this weekend will be $15 for adults and $5 for children. They can be purchased at the stadium with cash only beginning one hour prior to the start of each game. Meanwhile, CNU students will be admitted free-of-charge with a university ID.
For those fans unable to make the trip, live stats and a video stream of the action will be available through NCAA.com. Direct links can be found at the top of this release and on the schedule page.
After earning a first-round bye, the Captains come into the weekend well rested. CNU has not played a game since defeating Marian, 9-0, in the regular season finale on November 1. The program's 13-day layoff is nearly a week longer than any other team currently in the tournament. Bowdoin has been idle for seven days, while Tufts and Middlebury have been off for six.
Meanwhile, the 13-day break is the third-longest in-season stretch between games in school history. Incidentally, the longest span was a 17-day layoff entering last year's postseason.
Christopher Newport boasts a veteran-laden roster, which includes 13 players who have previously appeared in an NCAA Tournament game. Of those, nine are back after starting in last year's Final Four showdown against Tufts, while 12 current Captains saw action in that bout.
Among the experienced standouts,
Caroline Hughlett and
Courtney Hughlett have started all seven games in the national playoffs over the past three years. In the illustrious history of the CNU field hockey program, only former teammate
Lily Kerr has started more games in the tournament after the legendary goalie was in the lineup for all nine postseason battles from 2022-25.
Excelling on the national stage,
Courtney Hughlett and
Lindsey Loar are back after earning a spot on last year's NCAA All-Tournament Team. Hughlett assisted on both goals during the squad's opening round win over Lynchburg last fall, while Loar drove home the overtime game-winner against the Hornets, which kicked off the team's Final Four run.
In her career, Hughlett has five assists in the national playoffs, which is tied with CNU Hall of Famer Belle Tunstall for the most in program history. Meanwhile, Loar,
Avery Mast, and
Caroline Hughlett all have a pair of goals in the NCAA Tournament. Only former legends Lindsay Hendricks (5) and Haylie Black (3) have scored more on the national stage.
So far this season, Christopher Newport leads the NCAA in both scoring offense and scoring defense. The Captains are averaging 4.73 goals per game while surrendering just 0.20 per contest. On an individual level, senior goalie
Ella Fallen ranks first in the country in save percentage (.941). Additionally, she boasts a 0.17 goals-against-average, which not only places her first on the national charts but also stands as the third-best single-season mark in the history of collegiate field hockey.
Along with Fallen, the back line trio of
Kendall Gibson,
Gigi Stephan, and
Kelly Via have started all 15 games while limiting the opposition to a microscopic .040 shooting percentage. Overall, the squad has not allowed a goal over the past 420 consecutive minutes of action dating back to September 30. That is currently the second-longest streak in school history.
On the offensive side, Loar and
Caroline Hughlett are tied for the team-lead with 13 goals apiece. Meanwhile, Hughlett's 35 points are tied for sixth on the program's all-time single-season leaderboard. She is also one assist away from becoming just the sixth player in school lore to record at least 10 goals and 10 assists in a single campaign.
Ursinus advanced to Saturday's tilt after a thrilling 3-2 overtime victory against Stevens in a first-round showdown on Wednesday. Marie Brainard scored the game-winner just 41 seconds into the extra session. She also landed the equalizer in the fourth quarter, while Carlyn McKendrick opened the scoring in the first half. Meanwhile, Elise Martin made four saves to earn the victory.
Remarkably, the victory was the squad's seventh overtime win of the year, tying the NCAA single-season record. Additionally, it was Ursinus' first triumph in the national playoffs since 2016.
So far this season, Ursinus ranks 23rd nationally in scoring defense with a 1.17 goals-against-average. The Bears have shut out five opponents this year, including a 1-0 double-overtime win against No. 10 Franklin & Marshall on October 21. That was one of the squad's five triumphs over nationally-ranked competition this year after also defeating No. 11 Messiah, No. 14 Rowan, No. 17 Lynchburg, and No. 20 TCNJ.
On the offensive side, Brainard leads the Bears with 45 points, including 21 goals and eight game-winning tallies. Meanwhile, Kirsten Johnson boasts a team-high eight assists, while she and Ava Mikulski have six goals apiece. Overall, seven players have posted multiple strikes this year, while five have at least five goals.
Saturday's showdown will be the fourth time CNU and Ursinus have met in field hockey with the Bears holding a perfect 3-0 record in the series. The last matchup came in 2011 when Ursinus registered a 3-1 win in the first round of the NCAA Tournament in Collegeville, Pennsylvania. Putting that into perspective, current CNU assistant coach
Marlene Lichty was a sophomore midfielder in that game, while Ursinus head coach Janelle Benner - who just recorded her 200th career win on Wednesday - walked away from that contest with her 17th career victory.
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