Captains pluck the Blue Jays

By: Lindsey Martin

The 17th ranked Christopher Newport Field Hockey team took on the 20th ranked Johns Hopkins University Blue Jays and emerged with a dominating 6-0 win on their home turf on Sunday, Sept. 25.

The Captains were led by junior midfielder Caitlin Cahill, who scored two goals and tallied two assists. Cahill is currently dealing with an injury to her thigh, but it did not keep her from exhibiting a high level of play against the Blue Jays.

Johns Hopkins started the game with possession, however the Captains took control quick. Cahill got the first goal of the game three and a half minutes in to the contest when she slipped the ball past the goalkeeper. Junior attack Chrissy Kurecki scored the second goal of the game, off of a cross from Cahill, who seven minutes later took advantage of an open goal to score her second goal of the game to put the Captains up 3-0.

CNU took control of the ball during the second half and they started to become more productive on their corners. Sophomore defender Shelby Judkins, scored her first goal on a corner 20 minutes into the half. The goal was assisted by senior attack Paige Childers and Cahill, who notched her second assist of the game.

Another corner led to a goal by sophomore attack Meghan Sullivan who was assisted from a cross by Childers. With one minute and thirty seconds left in the game sophomore midfielder Hilary St. Mary slapped home the final goal, putting a finishing touch on the 6-0 victory.

This was the seventh match-up between the two teams, which CNU now leads 4-3. This game was a big boost to the Captains as they lost the head-to-head in a close contest last year, 3-2.

Junior midfielder Breanne Lowe kept a steady beat in the midfield throughout the game. Lowe said she and the rest of the team practiced intensely in preparation. “Everything we did today was done in practice and it was great to see it happen on the field,” Lowe said.

Post game, the players and coaches hosted an instructional clinic for 7-19 year olds. The clinic was more popular then expected with over 60 participants. Players were divided into separate groups to work on individual and team drills under involved direction from Captain team members. The CNU girls were excited to give back to the community by teaching young local players the fundamentals of the game.

Their next game will be at home against Frostburg State University on Friday, Sept. 30th at 7:00 p.m.

Posted by The Captain's Log on Sep 28 2011. Filed under Field Hockey, Sports. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. Both comments and pings are currently closed.