NEWPORT NEWS, Va. -- The nationally-ranked Christopher Newport men's soccer team will begin its quest for a conference championship on Saturday, as the No. 12 Captains (7-1-1, 0-0-0) will host York College (Pa.) (3-2-3, 0-0-0) at 3:00 pm. The Capital Athletic Conference season opener versus the Spartans will be available in a live video webcast and live stats are available as well. 

The Captains fell one spot in the national polls this week, but responded with a dominant 5-1 win on the road versus Lynchburg Wednesday night. CNU will look to continue its offensive onslaught this season when they open up CAC play Saturday afternoon. The Captains scoring offense ranks 15th nationally, scoring 3.11 goals per game with 28 total scores already this season.

Leading the potent attack is senior All-American Jalon Brown, with 17 points after the first half of the season. The two-time Player of the Year has scored seven goals and added three assists as he continues his trek up the all-time leaderboard across all three offensive stats at CNU. With 104 career points, Brown is just one point behind Oscar Gomez-Romero for fourth all-time at CNU. 

Statistically, the defense has not been up to the standard expected by head coach Steve Shaw, but the Captains back line is a veteran group that has stifled opposing attacks to the tune of just 8.7 shots per game. Seniors Alec Faulkner and Tommy O'Neal have righted the ship defensively, allowing one goal or fewer in each of the last three games, including a shutout of 2013 NCAA National Runner-Up Rutgers-Camden. 

The Spartans were nationally-ranked throughout 2013, but after graduating several key players, York is off to just a 3-2-3 start this season. In their last game, the Spartans held #1 Messiah off the scoreboard in the first half, but a five-goal outburst ended hopes of an upset for the five-time CAC conference champions. Before that setback, however, York had put together a strong four-game unbeaten streak, including an impressive 1-0 win over previously unbeaten Johns Hopkins. 

The offense is led by Peter Lundgaard, with three goals and an assist for seven total points. Only six Spartans have registered more than one point this season, but a strong defense has kept York in nearly every game this season. The starting goalkeeper, Charlie Johnson, features a 0.66 goals against average with a save percentage over 78%. 

Links to live stats and a live video webcast will be available on the men's soccer schedule at CNUsports.com, or by going directly to CNUsports.com/live. 

Following Saturday's game, the Captains will travel to Greensboro College to close out the non-conference portion of the 2014 schedule on Wednesday, October 1.