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NEWPORT NEWS, Va. -- After falling behind 2-0 at halftime in the NCAA Second Round against 20th-ranked Stevens Institute of Technology (14-4-2), the Christopher Newport men's soccer team ripped off a ferocious second-half comeback to topple the Ducks 4-2 and advance to the Round of 16. The Captains (18-3-4) rally came after a gutsy call by head coach Steve Shaw to shift into a 3-4-3 after the intermission, and the home team responded with four goals from four different players. 

CNU will advance to the Sectional Round for the fourth time in program history and the first since 2009. The Captains will take on Whitworth University (17-1-3), ranked 12th in the final regular season poll, at a site and time to be determined. 

As both teams took the field looking for a Sweet 16 berth, the game instantly had the feel of a classic. Both teams traded opportunities in early going, and physical play dominated the action in the first 20 minutes. Within the first two minutes, Joe Cellitti ripped a hard shot off the right post for Stevens, and CNU answered with back-to-back corner kicks on the other end of the field. Both defenses seemed poised to handle the strong offensive play in the early going, but the Captains fell into a quick 2-0 hole in a span of just three minutes in the middle of the frame. 

First, Cellitti converted on a breakaway goal in the 20th minute of action when Carson Pryor found him streaking through the center of the defense. His lofted pass was bouncing toward the top of the box, but CNU keeper Sam Lesko couldn't reach it in time as Cellitti slipped his first touch under him for the first goal of the match. Then, just under three minutes later, Pryor scored a goal of his own on an assist by Tommy Dorsay. The Ducks' leading scorer, Pryor, one-timed a hard shot into the top of the goal off a pass from the left side. Dorsay slipped past his defender on the goal line and drove a low pass toward the near post where Pryor snapped home the goal. 

Chances were limited for the remainder of the half, as both teams combined for just nine first-half shots with just the two on-frame. Heading into the intermission trailing by a pair of goals, the Captains were looking at potentially the final 45 minutes of their season as a heavy rain began to fall. The Captains would not be denied on their home field and pieced together the most explosive half of NCAA Soccer in program history, scoring a team-record four goals in a half to put away Stevens in come-from-behind fashion. 

As the rain came down, the energy on CNU's half went up, from the opening whistle of the second stanza. Playing with just three defenders and adding a forward for the first time, the Captains were looking to penetrate offensively with a high-octane plan on attack. Seniors Tommy O'Neal and Alec Faulkner played with junior Sean Christein in the back, locking down Stevens' chances while helping push things forward for CNU. 

The first goal would come in the 55th minute, just 9:12 into the second half. A pair of seniors combined for the goal, as leading scorer Jalon Brown saved the ball off the goal line and lifted a hard cross near post for midfielder Alex Makumbi. Makumbi's header slammed off the crossbar and down into the goal, cutting the lead in half as CNU began to climb back into the match. All of the action was pushing forward for CNU, as the Captains really took control of the game. 

The lead would not hold long, as CNU found the equalizer just four minutes later. Makumbi again factored in, as he took a corner kick on the right side of the field, sending in a low bouncer into a group on the near post. After one bounce, CNU's second-leading scorer, sophomore Patrick Burns, collected and smashed a hard shot past Stevens goalkeeper, Mike Renna for the game-tying goal. 

With new life and a tie game, Christopher Newport kept up with their new formation and continued to pressure the Stevens defense. Rapid-fire substitutions were also part of the new gameplan, as the coaching staff shuffled in fresh bodies in the midfield and at forward. After one such switch, checking in rookie defender Zach Douglass, the Captains were rewarded with a big play from the first-year player. Just three minutes after checking in, Douglass made a run up the middle of the field as play was bouncing around on the left side. A throw-in from O'Neal went to the feet of Brown, who slipped a pass back to O'Neal. He crossed the ball to the top of the box where it first deflected off a defender before rookie Henry Gotay flicked a pass to the feet of Douglass. The freshman didn't miss, as he hit the ball square and blasted a shot past Renna for the go-ahead score. 

The Captains defense continued to play extraordinarily well, and would not allow another shot from the Stevens offense after the Captains took the lead. With 17 minutes remaining, though, the CNU offense pressed for an insurance goal. With less than three minutes remaining, the back-breaking fourth goal came on a beautiful combination play from the team's two leading scorers. Brown and Burns got loose with just one defender between them and each set the other up for a potential shot.  One last extra pass from Burns found Brown open on the right side, where he slipped in the goal to seal the victory. 

Brown's insurance tally was the 51st of his career, moving him into a tie for the program's all-time record for career goals with Ian MacPherson and Winston Mattheisen. Already the Captains all-time leading scorer, Brown now also shares the goals scored mark for his career. His 45 points this season are also the third most in program history, and the most since 1989. The note was nominal, though, as Brown and the rest of the Captains were more ecstatic for the team victory and opportunity to advance in the 2014 NCAA Men's Soccer Championship Tournament. 

Three different players for CNU registered three-point performances with a goal and an assist as Makumbi, Burns and Brown led the comeback effort. CNU outshot the Ducks, 10-3, in the second half, and held a 15-7 advantage in total shots for the game. O'Neal, Faulkner and Christein led a dominant defensive performance, allowing just one shot on-goal after the two opening goals. The trio gave up just three shots in the second half.

Play in the NCAA Round of 16 will begin on Saturday, November 22 as the Captains take on Whitman. The other game in the pod will pit in-state rivals Kenyon and Ohio Wesleyan against eachother, as the two winners will advance to play for a trip to the Final Four on Sunday, November 23.