NEWPORT NEWS, Va. -- Taking on Salisbury University in the final regular season game of the 2026 season, the Christopher Newport women's soccer team got a scary good performance from the defense as sophomore center back
Nora Cook scored twice and senior defender
Bella DiTommaso added a third tally to lift the Captains (10-2-3) past the Coast-To-Coast Athletic Conference rival, 3-0.
Riding an offensive high after beating Regent by a final score of 6-0 on Sunday night, the Captains continued to find the back of the net in the regular season finale on Saturday. Haunting the Sea Gulls defense with 26 total shots including 15 on target, the Captains celebrated the final home regular season game of eight seniors with the 57th shutout of their careers.
In the clean sheet, one of those seniors, goalkeeper
Amy Sidaway, continued to climb the all-time charts in Division III with her 43rd career solo shutout. That moves her into the top-ten and ties Kyndal Kells from Loras College on the all-time list after stopping three shots on-goal against Salisbury on Saturday night. She becomes only the third Division III goalkeeper since 2016 to earn a spot in the top-ten all time.
Cook was the storyline, however, as the sophomore center back stole the headline with the first two goals of her career. Taking advantage of her 5-11 frame, the Captains call on her in corner kick situations to be a potential option off the restart. On Saturday, it paid off twice as Cook found herself in the right place at the right time to put away the scores. In the 29th minute, the ball was crossed in by
Catie Borsuk and the Salisbury keeper could not hold onto the ball as it dropped in front of the goal mouth;
Alessi Carrier snuck a soft touch on the loose ball and Cook was free to power home the left-footed score.
Keeping the momentum going, Cook then scored again ten minutes later on another corner kick. Borsuk again took the in-swinging left-footed pass from the corner spot and her ball was first deflected by a Salisbury defender but caromed into the middle of the box where Cook read it perfectly. Not wasting any time with a settling touch, Cook volleyed the ball out of the air and drilled an indefensible line drive into the left side of the goal.
Over the course of the first half, the Captains piled up 15 total shots while allowing just four shots by the Salisbury attack. Sidaway made two saves in the opening stanza while Christopher Newport had seven total shots on-goal before the intermission.
Returning to the field with a 2-0 advantage, the Captains would lock down defensively with
Malayah Warner,
Riley Phillips,
Addy Hennessy and the aforementioned trio of Borsuk, DiTommaso, and Cook leading the way. The dominant defensive unit has now secured 11 shutouts in 15 games played this season and has surrendered just five goals in 1,350 minutes of action.
Treating a solid Senior Day crowd of nearly 300 fans to an impressive offensive outing, the Captains mounted a number of quality opportunities in the second half. In the 56th minute,
Ellie Diehl nearly added a third corner kick goal to the ledger when she powered home a header on target, but the Salisbury goalkeeper made a tremendous save to knock the ball away.
Rookie
Ava Rassool had back-to-back shots on-goal in a span of under 30 seconds and then added another attempt eight minutes later as she peppered the Salisbury goalkeeper. She led the Captains with four total attempts with all four finding the goalmouth in the win.
Eventually, the Captains would pick up the third goal when DiTommaso scored her first goal of the season in the 81st minute of play. Diehl slid a pass by a defender through to the right side to find the senior defender streaking down the field on a murderous pace. The run put her in position for a long-distance shot as she sliced back into the middle and sent a howling left-footed attempt screaming into the upper 90 for the score.
Adding to the lead in the final ten minutes, the Captains were able to coast to the victory. Sidaway sealed up the shutout with an impressive reaction save in the 14th minute and turned away a number of dangerous opportunities right on the doorstep with the help of the defense in front of her. Sidaway's final stop came in the 88th minute on a long range attempt that she smothered to secure the clean sheet.
Turning the schedule over to postseason play, the Captains will now adjust focus to the Coast-To-Coast Athletic Conference Tournament this week. CNU will host the 2026 event with the quarterfinals scheduled for 4:00 and 7:00 p.m. on Thursday, November 5; the semifinal round will be played at the same time on Friday, November 6 before the C2C Champion is crowned during the title game on Sunday, Novermber 8 at either 10:00 am or Noon.
