NEWPORT NEWS, Va. -- The next edition of what is genuinely one of the most competitive rivalries in the South Atlantic region is set for Wednesday night at 7:00 pm, as the Christopher Newport Captains (10-4-1, 4-1-0) play host to the nationally-ranked Sea Gulls of Salisbury University (13-2-0, 5-0-0). Links to live stats and a live video webcast will be available at CNUsports.com, as both teams vie for playoff positioning in the Capital Athletic Conference.

This will be the 30th time the two teams have faced off, with the all-time series leaning slightly in favor of the road team, 15-13-1, but the Captains have won three straight. The game will also mark the first time the two programs will battle as conference rivals, as CNU is playing in the CAC for the first time. Salisbury is coming off a huge win over then second-ranked York (Pa.) to take over first place in the league.

Christopher Newport has run off four straight wins, outscoring opponents 17-1 in those contests as the offense continues to roll this season. The Captains have scored 39 goals, second in the league, and 29 assists, also ranked second. The attack has been led by the league's top two leading scorers, junior Jalon Brown and sophomore Ryan Balfour. Brown has put together back-to-back stellar seasons with 28 points already this year, on a league-high ten goals and eight assists. Balfour has tied his cohort with ten goals, adding two assists for a 22-point campaign in his second year. 

Senior Caleb Lewis has set a new career high  in assists, with seven, from the wing, and adding a pair of goals rounds out the CNU double-figure scoring with 11 total points this season. 

Defensively, the Captains are led by senior goalkeeper Sean Killion, the reigning CAC Defensive Player of the Week. Killion has five solo shutouts this season and has started between the pipes in all seven clean sheets CNU has posted this year. With a 0.69 goals against average and a near-82% save percentage, Killion is climbing the career charts at CNU with just two years as the starter. 

He will contend with a tough offense on Wednesday, though, as 11th-ranked Salisbury comes into the game as the league's top scoring team. The Sea Gulls have seen a colossal 23 different players factor into the scoring this year, led by junior forward Tanner East. East has scored seven goals and added an assist for 15 points, while senior Trevor Sharpe has also chipped in four goals and three assists for 11 points. 

As balanced as the team is offensively, the Sea Gulls have dominated their opponents defensively. Salisbury has allowed just six goals this season, through 15 games, for an average of 0.40 per game. The defense ranks second in the nation in shutout percentage (0.73) and third in goals against average (0.39). The team's starting goalkeeper, sophomore Drew Staedeli, ranks sixth nationally in goals against average, starting all 15 games and allowing just 0.436 goals agaisnt. 

The game will kick off at 7:00 pm, with links to live stats and video available at CNUsports.com.