NEWPORT NEWS, Va. -- First round action is heating up in the 2014 NCAA Division III Men's Soccer National Championship, and the postseason tournament will be fueled further this weekend as Christopher Newport University plays host to the first- and second-rounds. The 16th-ranked Captains (16-3-4) take on Lynchburg College (13-6-1) at 7:30 pm on Saturday night, immediately following another first-round matchup between 14th-ranked Montclair State and Stevens Institute of Technology. 

Heading into the NCAA Tournament, the Christopher Newport men's soccer Captains moved up to 16th in the D3soccer.com national rankings and vaulted all the way to 17th after being unranked in the NSCAA/Continental Tire NCAA Division III Men's final regular season poll. CNU's overall record improved to 16-3-4 after an impressive run through the CAC Tournament, becoming the lowest seed in league history to win the conference title as the No. 5 team in the tournament.

The Captains feature one of the most explosive offensive groups in the nation, averaging 2.78 goals per game for the 19th-ranked offense in the country. The Captains have registered multi-goal performances in 17 of their 23 games this season, and are particularly dangerous after halftime, outscoring opponents by 22 goals in the second half and beyond. Senior Jalon Brown picked up his third straight conference Player of the Year honor this week after leading the sturdy offense with his finest season yet. The fourth-year forward has collected 42 points on 18 goals and 6 assists, posting a team-high four game-winning goals and two hat tricks. 

Sophomore Patrick Burns has complemented Brown up front, pouring in 11 goals and 11 assists for 33 points. The offense is powered by the dynamic pair up front, but five Captains are in double figure scoring and 15 different CNU players have registered at least one goal this season. 

On the defensive end, senior All-Conference selections Alec Faulkner and Tommy O'Neal lead a strong unit that has allowed just seven multi-goal efforts while posting eight shutouts. Playing in front of junior goalkeeper Sam Lesko, the Captains defense has allowed just 7.2 shots per game and are riding an impressive streak of seven straight games with one goal or fewer allowed per game. 

Christopher Newport will be taking on a familiar foe in the opening round as they open action against Lynchburg College. Including a 5-1 victory this season, the Captains have won three straight against the Hornets to draw even in the all-time series, 7-7-4. Playing on the road earlier this season, Brown and Burns each scored in the first half to pull away with a 3-0 halftime lead, and finished off a 5-1 win on the road. 

The Hornets picked up the ODAC Championship with a 1-0 win over Roanoke College and have just two losses in their last 12 games. Lynchburg's defense has been sound, holding opponents to just 20 goals allowed this season, including the big five-goal input for CNU. The team goals against average is 0.99, while three different goalkeepers have combined to start all 20 games. Offensively, senior forward Luke Moore has a team-high 17 points on seven goals and three assists, while five more players have posted double-figure scoring seasons this season.

Montclair State vs. Stevens
The first game Saturday will kick off at 5:00 pm between another pair of conference champions. The Montclair State Red Hawks are ranked No. 14 in the nation with a 17-4-0 overall record, coming off a New Jersey Athletic Conference championship, while the Stevens Ducks won the Empire 8 and carry an overall mark of 13-3-2 into the Saturday evening tilt. The two New Jersey-based programs will travel to Hampton Roads to square off in the first round, marking the third straight matchup between the in-state rivals coming in the postseason championship. 

The game pits one of the nation's top defenses against one of its top offenses. Stevens features a top 20 defense that has allowed just ten goals all season, while Montclair State pours in goals at an impressive clip, averaging 3.43 per contest. 

Live Stats & Video
All games will be available in a live video webcast with live stats. The direct link for both is www.cnusports.com/live