NEWPORT NEWS, Va. (September 24, 2022)  – Sophomore Zoe Hindman made a career-high six saves but the Stevens Institute of Technology women's soccer team dropped a hard-fought 1-0 decision to No. 1 Christopher Newport University Saturday in a non-conference contest played at Captains Field.

Sarah Smith scored the lone goal of the match in the 21st minute for the Captains, who improved to 8-0-1. The defending national champions, Christopher Newport is unbeaten over its last 32 contests. 

The setback dropped Stevens to 1-4-3. Saturday's contest marked what was believed to be the first meeting between the programs.

Hindman, who totaled two saves across four matches one season ago, came on at halftime and turned aside six shots over the game's final 45 minutes. The Cincinnati, Ohio product made four stops against Smith alone, including two in the final six minutes.

Junior Dana Perry drew her eighth start of the season and made three first-half saves. Jaya Daniel made six saves to earn the clean sheet for Christopher Newport.

In the 21st minute, Christopher Newport used a counterattack to finally break through. Emily Talotta delivered a through-ball through the Stevens defense to Molly Seventko, who immediately crossed it to Smith. The nation's 10th-leading goal scorer, Smith chipped the ball over Perry for her eighth marker of the season.

It was Stevens that had the first quality scoring chances of the match. Junior Jana Mucci and graduate student Rachel Rouse fired shots on frame in the first two minutes of the contest. Junior Elsa Bley then fired a shot over the net and Mucci narrowly missed tucking one inside the post in the lead in the eighth minute. The Ducks actually fired the first five shots of the contest before the Captains finally tested Perry in the 19th minute. Stevens finished the contest with 16 shots - the most of any Christopher Newport opponent this season and the most by any regular-season opponent of the Captains since September 2019.

The Ducks had a quality chance in the 81st minute. Rouse fired a shot on frame, which Daniel was able to push aside. However, the ball remained alive in the six-yard box, but a Christopher Newport defender was able to clear the ball before the Ducks could corral the loose ball.

Inside the Numbers

• Christopher Newport held a slim 18-16 advantage in shots, including an 11-6 edge in shots on frame.
• The Captains earned each of the game's five corners.
• Four of the Ducks' five contests that did not end in a tie have been decided by one goal.
• Junior Nina Burden drew her first start of the season.

From the Sidelines - Head Coach Jeff Parker

• "Excellent performance from our group today - proud of our mentality, toughness and who we are. If people want to know what our group is about, then watch today's performance. Credit to CNU for finding the lone goal and for giving us the opportunity. We've got a lot of season left and every preseason goal is still on the table."

From the Sidelines - Graduate Student Brynn Budka

• "I am really proud of our team's performance and effort today. I think we played some of our best soccer of the season and left it all on the field. We are continuing to get better with each game and the tough competition is only preparing us that much more for conference play."

Up Next

• Women's Soccer heads to Chester, Pennsylvania on Sept. 28 to take on Widener University in the final non-conference tilt of the season.
• The Ducks have won two of the three meetings between the teams in the 2000's although the 2018 matchup (won by Stevens 3-0) was the first meeting between the programs since 2003.
• A link for live stats is available on StevensDucks.com.

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