NEWPORT NEWS, Va. -- Freshman
Alessi Carrier tucked away her first career goal and
Amy Sidaway locked up another historic shutout for the nationally-ranked Captains on a pleasant, sunny afternoon as Christopher Newport women's soccer captured a 1-0 win over Chapman University (0-2-0). The Captains improved to 2-0-1 with the win.
Taking on the California-based program for the first time in program history, the Captains finished the game with a 21-12 advantage in shots and put 12 total attempts on frame against the Panthers. Carrier notched her first career goal for the winner off a feed from senior midfielder
Lexi Hazelgrove and a brilliant feint by
Anaya Lozano.
In goal, Sidaway snared four saves in the game and picked up her 36th career shutout. The veteran netminder moved into the NCAA Division III record book and is now tied for 28th all-time in career clean sheets. She stopped one shot in the first half and three more in the second to notch her third straight shutout to start the season.
CNU weathered an early surge by the visiting team including an early attempt on frame by the Panthers that Sidaway snagged. In the 27th minute, though, the Captains converted on a beautiful connection down the middle of the field to take the lead.
Lexi Hazelgrove had the ball around midfield and surveyed her options before sending a low bouncer straight through the middle of the pitch. The first Captain on the receiving end of the pass was Lozano, who sold a picture-perfect decoy by leaving the ball through her legs and allowing it to run through to the top of the box. That set Carrier free behind the defense and the rookie had a one-on-one opportunity with the goalkeeper; she did not miss, slotting a finessed shot into the bottom right of the goal for the score.
The Captains nearly doubled the lead with a flourish at the end of the half as rookies
Ava Rassool and M.J. Mock each connected toward the goal. Rassool's attempt was saved out of bounds and set up a corner kick where
Brooke White placed an impeccable cross to the back post for Mock. Her header ricocheted off the post and stayed out of the goal. White then added another hard shot of her own that was saved in the final 20 seconds of the half.
In the second stanza, Chapman again was unrelenting in the beginning stages of the period with two saves recorded by Sidaway in the first 12 minutes. White put another shot on frame on a free kick just outside the box and minutes later
Bella Aguayo hammered a short-range missile off the hands of the keeper.
In the midfield, the Captains also got strong performances from rookie
Caelyn LaFlamme, sophomore
Natalie Stern, and senior
McKenna Kolasch off the bench.
Christopher Newport will return to action next weekend with a pair of matches at home on September 12-13. First, the Captains take on Washington and Lee University at 12:00 p.m. on Saturday before adding a home tilt against Stockton University at Noon on Sunday.
