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BRIDGEWATER, Va. -- The top-ranked Christopher Newport field hockey team will begin a month-long road trip on Wednesday at 4 p.m. when the Captains travel to Bridgewater for a non-conference showdown at the Jopson Athletic Complex.

Entering the midweek match-up, CNU sits at 5-0 on the season, including 3-0 on the road. Meanwhile, Bridgewater is 4-2 with a 2-1 mark at home.

For those fans unable to attend the game, live stats will be available at BridgewaterEagles.com. Bridgewater will also provide a broadcast of the action for paid subscribers of Flosports. Direct links can be found at the top of this release and on the schedule page.

Christopher Newport remained at the top of the latest NFHCA National Coaches Poll, which was released on Tuesday morning. It was the third straight poll in which the Captains were ranked first in the country and the second consecutive release in which they earned all 19 first-place votes.

Following the Captains, Salisbury remained second in the poll, while Tufts, Williams, and Johns Hopkins rounded out the top-five.

CNU enhanced its early-season resume on Saturday when the squad knocked off No. 11 Messiah, 6-0, at Jennings Family Stadium. During that bout, Lindsey Loar established a new career-high with seven points, which also equaled the seventh-highest total in program history and marked the largest output against a nationally-ranked opponent. Along the way, she deposited her fifth career hat-trick, passing former standouts Abby Asuncion and Wendy Wilson for the most in school history.

Along with Loar's eruption, Caroline Hughlett, Gigi Stephan, and Kelly Via also scored for the victors, while Riley Iasiello handed out two assists. Calli Martin, Avery Mast, and Emma Weber pitched in with helpers as well. Overall, CNU's six goals equaled the most against a nationally-ranked opponent in school history.

On the defensive end, Christopher Newport limited Messiah to only five shots while polishing off the squad's third shutout of the season. Aided by that performance, the Captains jumped to fourth in the NCAA in scoring defense this year with a remarkable 0.40 goals-against-average. On an individual level, Ella Fallen moved to second nationally with a personal 0.24 mark.

In addition to the nationally-ranked defensive unit, CNU also sits first in the country in assists-per-game (4.20) and scoring margin (4.40 goals-per-game). Meanwhile, the offense is averaging 4.80 goals per contest, which is the fourth-best mark in the NCAA. Loar is also 10th on the individual charts with a 3.20 points-per-game rate.

Buoyed by their work on both ends of the field, the Captains have kicked off the season with five straight multi-goal victories. That stands as the longest run by the program since an eight-game surge from October 1 - November 4, 2023. 

Christopher Newport's next test will come against a stingy Bridgewater squad, which is seventh in the NCAA in save percentage (.889), 14th in shutouts-per-game (0.50), and 19th in scoring defense (0.83 goals-against-average). Between the pipes, freshman Rachel Adel has surrendered just four goals while starting all six games, while Thaleia Khader has a team-best .963 save percentage in 165 minutes of work.

On the offensive side, the Eagles are averaging 1.83 goals per game. Olivia Ohleger and Kiley Parker have two strikes apiece, while Emily Dickinson has three points, including the game-winning goal against McDaniel last week.

CNU and Bridgewater have met 22 times with the Captains holding a 20-2 edge in the series. Last year, Christopher Newport picked up a 6-0 win as Courtney Hughlett and Emma Weber led the victors with two goals apiece. Caroline Hughlett chipped in with a career-high four assists as well.

Following Wednesday's action, CNU will head to Massachusetts for a pair of neutral-site tests. The Captains will face Vassar on Saturday at Wellesley before squaring off with No. 6 Middlebury on Sunday at MIT.

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