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NEWPORT NEWS, Va. -- For the first time since 2010, the Christopher Newport men's soccer team is advancing in the NCAA Tournament. The 18th-ranked Captains (17-3-4) slipped past Lynchburg College (13-7-1) in the First Round with a tremendous strike off the foot of sophomore midfielder Jimmy Grace in the 77th minute, leading CNU to a 1-0 victory. CNU advances to face Stevens Institute of Technology (14-3-2) at home Sunday evening at 5:00 pm with a trip to the Round of 16 on the line. 

Taking on the Hornets for the second time this season, CNU was looking to repeat a dominant 5-1 victory but found themselves facing a much different team in postseason play. The five goals Lynchburg allowed against CNU was a clear outlier, and the defense was impressive throughout the remainder of the season, allowing just 15 goals in 19 games not against the Captains. In 12 games since the regular season loss to the Captains, the Hornets allowed just seven goals and picked up eight shutouts heading into Saturday's game. 

The Lynchburg defense flipped the script on the Captains Saturday, and held one of the nation's most powerful offenses off the scoreboard for over 75 minutes of action. The CNU offense threatened to score on multiple opportunities, but it wasn't until the 77th minute when Grace converted on the eventual game-winning strike. Junior midfielder Mark Brewington lofted a high pass into the box from the right side of the field. On what looked like a broken play, junior Sean Christein leaped in the air with his defender and managed to direct a header pass back out to the center of the field just outside of the box, where Grace was all alone. The second-year midfielder struck the ball flush with his right foot, scalding a hard shot that was in the upper ninety of the goal before anyone could react.

Grace's third goal of the season was his second game-winning strike. It also put the second-year midfielder into double figures for the season, giving him 10 points. Christein picked up his second assist on the physical play in the box, setting up Grace's line-drive. 

CNU held a 16-7 advantage in total shots, including a 6-3 edge in shots on-target. Six different Captains put a shot on-goal, while senior Jalon Brown led all players with five total attempts. 

In the first half, both teams struggled to get anything going forward, as the attempts were limited. Lynchburg keeper, Corey Budka, stopped a pair of header attempts, one from Christein and one from Ryan Balfour, to keep CNU off the board in the first half. 

CNU controlled play for most of the second half, holding a 10-3 advantage in total shots. 

The win was the first since NCAA Tournament victory since 2010, when the Captains dropped Neumann, 3-0, in the opening round at Captains Field. CNU has made nine trips to the postseason tournament, racking up an all-time record of 11-8. 

Christopher Newport advances to the Second Round, hosting the Ducks for the third head-to-head matchup in program history. The last time the two teams faced was in the 2009 Round of 16 at York College (Pa.), where the Captains captured a shootout victory over Stevens. 

Live stats and live video will be available at CNUsports.com/live.