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NEWPORT NEWS, Va. -- After completing his second hat trick of the season with a goal in the second half, senior forward Jalon Brown made history for the CNU men's soccer team, breaking the all-time record for career points. The historic performance was paired with an impressive three goal, two assist night from sophomore Patrick Burns as the ninth-ranked Captains (11-1-2, 2-0-1) raced past Southern Virginia University (4-9-0, 1-2-0) in Capital Athletic Conference action, 8-0. 

Brown's third career hat trick would prove to be a memorable night as he surpassed Winston Mattheisen's 118-point record set in 2011. Brown is well on pace to keep adding to his new record, as he scored his 119 career points in his first 74 games while Mattheisen set the mark in 89 career games. 

After wasting no time approaching the all-time scoring title with two goals in the first 16:10, Brown eclipsed the three-year old record with his third goal in the 62nd minute of action. The three tallies, including the gamewinner, moved him into third all-time in game-winning strikes (14), as well as sole possession of third in career goals (46). He trails only Ian MacPherson and Mattheisen with 51 career scoring strikes. 

Brown's hat trick was somehow made more impressive when his sophomore teammate decided to join in on the fun, adding his first career hat trick as well. It was the first time since 2005, and just the fourth time in program history that two players registered hat tricks in the same game. The last time it happened was when Nick Yanitello and Galen Small each accomplished the feat versus Shenandoah on October 5, 2005. 

The game was put out of reach early Tuesday night, as the Captains took their earliest lead of the season with Brown's first tally coming just 30 seconds into the game. On the first run of the game, junior Ryan Balfour blistered a hard shot into Southern Virginia University goalkeeper Efren Gutierrez, who made the first of an impressive 18 saves. The ball bounded away from Gutierrez though, right to the feet of Brown who put away the second-chance opportunity easily. 

Nearly an identical play netted Brown his second goal of the match in the 17th minute of action. This time it was sophomore Jimmy Grace who drilled Gutierrez with a shot too hard to corral, and the senior forward raced through to reach the ball first and score his second goal of the match. After the first round of substitutions, it was Burns' turn to get going, as Grace picked up his second assist of the game on a chip assist in the box, finding Burns open from about eight yards away from the goal. The final goal of the first half was also credited to Burns, as it was his turn to clean up a rebound after a hard shot from senior Alex Makumbi landed right at his feet inside the goalie's box on the left side. 

With a commanding 4-0 lead at the half, the Captains held a 22-3 advantage in total shots, including 16-0 on-goal in the opening stanza. Gutierrez made several sensational stops in goal for the Knights, keeping the lead from growing even more in the first half.

Ryan Balfour peppered Gutierrez the most, putting seven shots on-goal with hard line drives all night. The Captains starting forward would finally get one past the SVU keeper early in the second half. Grace picked up a different kind of hat trick when he earned his third assist of the night on Balfour's goal. He slipped a pass from the right to the middle of the field and Balfour blistered a hard shot into the left corner of the goal for his fourth score of the season. 

The record-breaking blow would come next, as potentially the nicest combination of passes of the night led to Brown having a one-on-one opportunity with Gutierrez. First, Burns slipped a pass backwards to junior Sebastian Abrigo, who then lofted a perfect pass down the middle of the field past the defense for Brown, onsides and beyond the defense. In the box, Brown drew out the keeper and slipped a pass under his legs into the right side for his 14th goal of the season. Not only did it break the all-time scoring mark, but it tied his career high for goals in a season.

The Captains offense would keep the pedal pressed heavily on the floor as the reserves started to pressure Gutierrez in the final 30 minutes of the match. Rookie midfielder Andrew Gogolin registered his second goal of the season in the 69th minute, as he flicked home a re-directed pass from Burns. Abrigo made a sensational play to save the ball from going out on the goal line, lofting a pass to the center of the box, where Burns touched once to Gogolin, who put away the score. 

Finally, Burns capped off the night by completing his first career three-goal performance in the 79th minute of action. Rookie Girma Baker set up the strike, driving past a defender on the left before slipping a pass to the wide open sophomore in front of the net, poking home the shot from about seven yards out. 

In the game, the potent CNU offense finished with eight goals, ten assists and 35 total shots. CNU held a 35-4 advantage in total shots, which included a ridiculous 27 shots on-goal for the home team. Gutierrez made 18 stops and a defender cleared one off the line for the Knights, as the junior keeper played all 90 minutes in the 8-0 setback. CNU junior keeper Sam Lesko did not face a shot on-goal in his nearly 69 minutes of action, while rookie Mitchell Lagos registered one save in his collegiate debut, playing the final 21 minutes of action. 

The Captains ran their unbeaten streak to nine games with the win, and have won four straight games by outscoring opponents 15-2. CNU will now head on the road for a conference matchup at Frostburg State University (7-3-2, 2-1-0) on Saturday, October 11 at 2:00 pm.