CNU Close the Regular Season 9-0: Hughlett Passes 100 Points, Shutout Streak Hits Seven
No. 3 Christopher Newport could hardly have finished the regular season better. A 9-0 win over Marian on Sunday closed the book at 14-1, stretched the shutout streak to seven games, and took Caroline Hughlett past 100 career points. That’s a team peaking at exactly the right time.
The numbers behind the win are silly. Six Captains scored, ten recorded at least a point, and CNU outshot Marian 48-7 with a 22-7 edge in penalty corners. More importantly, the Captains have now gone 420 consecutive minutes without conceding a goal. That’s seven straight shutouts. Good luck scoring on this team right now.
Hughlett is the headline, though. She went into the weekend on 98 career points after a two-goal, two-assist show against Mary Washington on Wednesday, a game that also moved her past Haylie Black into fourth on the program’s all-time list. Five more points against Marian took her to 103 and third all-time. She is only the latest Hughlett to rewrite this program’s record book, and she did it while the team around her kept another clean sheet.
The context matters. CNU finished 14-1, and their only defeat is a long way behind them now. Seven straight shutouts is not just a defensive stat, it’s a statement of intent heading into the postseason. The Captains now wait for the NCAA Tournament bracket, due to be announced on 8 November, and on this form they will fancy their chances against anyone in the field.
For our money, this is the most dangerous team in Division III right now. A defence that hasn’t conceded in 420 minutes and an attack that just put nine past somebody is a brutal combination. Whoever draws CNU in the bracket will not be happy about it.
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