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GAMBIER, Ohio -- While the icy conditions in Gambier, Ohio delayed the start of the NCAA Round of 16 matchup by 24 hours, it did nothing to cool down the red-hot Christopher Newport offense. CNU won, 3-2, over 12th-ranked Whitworth University in the NCAA Division III Men's Soccer Sweet 16, and advances to take on the winner of the Kenyon vs. Ohio Wesleyan matchup in the Elite Eight Monday at 1:00 pm. Christopher Newport improves to 19-3-4 on the season, capturing 19 wins in a season for the second time in program history.

The Captains, one of the nation's premier offensive teams in Division III this season, became the first team to score against the Pirates defense since October 26, snapping a scoreless streak of over 470 minutes coming into the contest. They are also only the second team all season to score more than twice against Whitworth. CNU hands the Pirates just their second loss of the season as Whitworth concludes their season with a 17-2-3 overall mark. 

A pair of first-half goals staked the Captains to an early lead, but it was an imperative insurance goal by senior leader Jalon Brown early in the second that would hold up as the gamewinner. The Pirates, facing a two-goal deficit and playing a man down for the final 26 minutes of action, never quit and forced the CNU defense to battle against an extremely talented offense. 

Brown's winner, the 17th of his career, came in the 52nd minute when he drilled a header off the left post to give the Captains a 3-1 advantage. It was his fifth game-winner of the year, and came off a pretty assist from junior forward Ryan Balfour.  Senior defender Alec Faulkner found Balfour down the left side where the junior lofted a perfect pass into the box for Brown, who powered home his 20th goal of the season. After tying the program's all-time goals scored mark last week, Brown took sole possession of the career mark with the tally, his 52nd career score. 

The insurance tally proved pivotal despite the Captains jumping out to a 2-0 lead. Just under 12 minutes into the game, Balfour made a gorgeous run through the middle of the field to open the game's scoring. After getting a pass about 10 yards over the midfield line, the third-year forward made a stellar run past a handful of defenders. As he reached the top of the box, he had one more touch with the outside of his left foot to get around a final defender, then hammered home his shot into the left corner of the goal.
 
CNU would pick up their second goal of the match just five minutes later on a dazzling pass play between three Captains. Brown battled for possession on the sideline and came away with a dribble toward the middle. His first pass found Jimmy Grace in stride down the center of the field, who one-touched on to senior Alex Makumbi just outside the box on the left side. With no one guarding him, Makumbi took one touch toward center and slipped a low, fast bouncer under the goalkeeper to the right side of the goal.

Meanwhile, on the other end of the field, Sam Lesko pieced together the run of his life in the first half, making five saves in the first 30 minutes of action. First, just under 10 minutes into the match, Michael Ramos slipped a pass to Karl Muelheims on the left side of the box, who drove a shot toward the left side of the goal. Lesko dove to his right and slapped the shot away. Aaron Yanagi, Rylan Berriman and Ramos each peppered the junior keeper over a four minute span, including a nice combination play on the right side of the box getting Berriman an open look, but each time, Lesko was up to the task.
 
On one of the Pirates best chances of the first half, Yanagi was open from about eight yards out with no one but Lesko in front of him. The Whitworth rookie placed a near-perfect shot toward the top shelf, but again Lesko leaped and got his left hand on the attempt to keep the Pirates off the board.
 
Whitworth cut the lead in half in the 37^th minute when they finally were able to get one past Lesko. The Pirates drew the Captains junior keeper out on the right side as Ramos threatened a shot from close. Instead, he passed through the box to the left side for Muelheims, who powered home the shot on the left side of the open net.
 
At the end of the first half, Whitworth had more opportunities, outshooting the Captains 13-5, including 6-3 in shots on-target, but CNU had made more of their chances carrying a 2-1 lead into the intermission.

After Brown got the lead back to two early in the second half, the Captains continued to pressure Timmy Costa, Whitworth's keeper, and nearly converted for a fourth goal. Jimmy Grace had a close shot turned away by Costa with 29 minutes remaining off a restart taken by Alec Faulkner. The ball bounced through the defense on the left side and Grace got a poke, but Costa slid in front of his attempt from inside the goal box.
 
A huge defensive stand came in the 64^th minute when the Pirates were awarded a free kick from about 10 yards out inside the box. CNU lined the goal mouth with players as Michael Ramos took the first shot for Whitworth. His shot went into the wall but right to the foot of Colin Shockman, who blistered one on frame as well. Again the Captains defense came through with a block and cleared the shot away, escaping from the tight spot.

Shortly after, a red card was issued to Whitworth's Matt bray, giving the Captains a 3-1 lead and a man advantage for the remainder of the match. The Pirates picked up a goal despite playing a man-down when senior defender Colin Schockman persisted on a scramble in the box during the 71st minute of action. 

With the lead cut back to one, the Captains defense stood on their head, denying a number of Pirate opportunities as the clock waned toward the finish. Faulkner, Tommy O'Neal, Stephen Landry and Sean Christein led the performance on the back line, pushing back against a high-octane offense by Whitworth. Lesko finished with six stops in the game, including the impressive first half performance with five. 

Offensively, CNU added three more goals to the season total, setting a new program record for goals scored in a single season with 72. In the process, the Captains also set a new single-season scoring mark with 199 points on the year. 

CNU advances to the NCAA Elite Eight for the fourth time in program history, and first since the 2009 season. The host Lords of Kenyon College host Ohio Wesleyan in the second game Sunday, with the winner advancing to face the Captains at 1:00 pm on Monday afternoon. The winner of the Elite Eight contest will advance to play in the National Semifinals in Kansas City on December 5.