POINT CNU! Volleyball advances to Elite 8

Mark Graziano/The Captain's Log

Field Hockey Makes First-round Exit

Newport News, Va. – CNU Field Hockey made an early exit from the 2010 NCAA Division III playoffs, losing 1-0 at home against Lynchburg last Wednesday. Lynchburg’s Jenny Weir scored the winning goal from a crossing pass by Kristina Morris in the 43rd minute of regulation. It was Weir’s 20th goal of the season and it gave the Captains their first and only home loss on the season.

The Captains had plenty of chances, outshooting the Hornets 11-10. Lynchburg keeper Tiffany Frye was a true difference maker, turning away tough shots in key situations, including a pivotal sprawling save on penalty stroke late in the second half. CNU’s best chance came at the end of regulation. With the game clock reading 0:00, the home team was awarded three consecutive penalty corners but couldn’t capitalize on the opportunity.

After the game, Senior Stephanie Bair reflected on her time with the team saying, “I am going to miss the girls the most. Those girls are my family and not seeing them and not being able to play field hockey with them is going to be extremely hard for me.”

Key performers for CNU included Chrissy Kurecki who had three shots on goal and keeper Brittany Bradsher who stopped seven of eight Lynchburg attempts. The Captains end the season with a 15-4 record.

Although the Captains do not advance, the NCAA Division III Championships will be played at CNU Nov. 20-21.

Women’s Soccer Loses 4-0 to TCNJ in First Round

Ewing, NJ – The Women’s Soccer team lost 4-0 to The College of New Jersey in the first round of the NCAA Division III playoffs last Saturday. Sophomore goalkeeper Meghan Gumbs had 11 saves for CNU, but the Lady Captains could not muster any offense. The loss snaps CNU’s 14-game win streak and ends their playoff run.

The 2010 season was one of the most successful in the history of the program. Senior forward Sam Ciaravino ended her career ranked second all-time in points with 86 and first all-time in goals with 37. The Captains out-scored their opponents 63-29 on their way to a 16-5-1 record, a mark that ties the 2004 squad for most wins in the history of the program.

The Captains will have 19 of their 28 players return next season.

Men’s Soccer Drops 2-1 in Double-Overtime

Newport News, Va. – In what turned out to be one of the most exciting games of the season, the Men’s Soccer team fell 2-1 to Johns Hopkins in the second round of the NCAA playoffs at home in double-overtime.

The season-ending dagger was delivered with 8:29 left during second overtime. The referees, who were hassled by a hostile student section for the duration of the game, stuck sophomore defender Kyle Rose with a questionable red card that allowed the Blue Jays a free kick. Kevin Heuber buried the shot in the top right corner of the net, mere inches out of junior keeper Justin Wolfe’s reach.

The loss was only the second of the year for the Captains, who set a new school record with 20 wins on the season. The Blue Jays continue onward to the Sweet Sixteen.

The Captains made quick work of Neumann University the previous night, shutting out the Knights 3-0. Bryian Lybert, Sam Venker, and Winston Mattheisen all notched goals during the victory. Mattheisen’s goal was his 10th of the season, tying him with Lybert for the team lead. Lybert added an assist, his 15th of the year, setting a new school record.

They absolutely dominated the majority of the season, outscoring opponents by a jaw-dropping 65-16 margin and out-shooting them by an equally impressive difference, 452-180.

Cross Country

Memphis, TN – The Men and Women’s Cross Country teams competed in the South/Southeast Region Championship last Saturday. Twenty-nine schools from 11 states and the District of Columbia battled it out for the chance to be named Regional Champion.

The women’s team, which ran the 6K, placed third out of 25 schools with a score of 177. They were paced by Junior Dira Hansen, who placed 16th overall with a time of 23:02. Other runners of note were Freshman Erin Rolaf, who placed 19th and Junior Jade Zaharoff, who placed 20th.

The men’s team competed in the 8K and finished eighth out of 22 schools with a score of 239. They were lead by Sophomore Raymond Gamache, who finished 22nd with a time of 26:19, Junior Corey Lofton, who placed 36th with a time of 26:45 and finally junior Will Kirk who finished with a time of 26:54 for 46th place overall.

The NCAA Division III National Championship will be held at Wartburg College in Iowa on Nov. 20.

Volleyball Wins 2nd Straight Regional Championship

Newport News, VA – It was not always pretty and it certainly was not easy, but when the final whistle sounded on Sunday, the Captains were once again Regional Champions, their second title in a row.

The Captains had their backs up against the wall at several moments throughout the tournament. In the third set of Sunday’s game against Randolph-Macon, the team was a mere seven points away from elimination, before a valiant rally forced a decisive fifth set. In that fifth set, the Yellow Jackets had CNU at match point 14-13 and were poised to celebrate a championship in front of the 700-plus CNU fans that had packed into the Freeman Center. With their season hanging in the balance, Sophomore Christie Fellows deflated Randolph-Macon’s momentum with two consecutive clutch kills. Tournament MVP Caitlyn Jansen delivered the final blow, a vicious spike set up by Junior Jessie Heavenrich.

“I can’t begin to describe how proud I am of my girls,” said Head Coach Lindsay Birch. “The challenge and adversity we faced this weekend was worthy of NCAA postseason play. Randolph-Macon was unbelievable tonight and I was very impressed with their performance.”

It was the second straight game in which the Captains overcame a 2-1 series disadvantage. The day before the eighth-ranked Eagles of Eastern University held a 10-6 lead in the fourth set before the Captains went on a run and evened the series at two games each. CNU went up 5-3 in the final set and cruised to a 15-9 match-clinching victory. Jansen led the scoring with 21 kills.

Abby Hogge, Heavenrich, and Jansen were all named to the All-Regional Tournament team and Jansen was named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player.

Also of note is the fact that the squad’s two seniors, Mary Horner and Jansen, led the Captains to a remarkable 246-6 record in conference sets over the last four years.

The girls will travel to Washington University in St. Louis, Mo. to compete in the Elite 8. They are three victories away from the first national title in school history.

Volleyball was the only sport to survive a hectic weekend of playoff activity. Men’s Soccer lost in double overtime in the regional final, Women’s Soccer fell in the first round in New Jersey and Field Hockey lost their first-round matchup at home against Lynchburg.

Posted by Mike Schoeffel on Nov 17 2010. Filed under Sports, Volleyball. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. Both comments and pings are currently closed.