NEWPORT NEWS, Va. -- On Friday night at 5:00 pm, the Christopher Newport University men's soccer team will welcome in North Carolina Wesleyan College (2-0), a former league rival from the USA South Athletic Conference. The Captains, also 2-0 to start the year, and Bishops both had strong opening weekends with 17 goals and three shutouts in four combined games. 

The game will be hosted at Captains Field and live stats will be available at cnusports.com/live. 

The Friday night tilt will be the latest in a long-standing head-to-head matchup between the two programs that dates all the way back to 1974, the Captains' first year with a men's soccer program. Since the inception of the series, the Captains own a slight 20-18-8 advantage in what has proven to be one of the most competitive pairings in CNU history. 

In the opening weekend, the Captains showcased a tremendous amount of depth offensively, with ten different players factoring into the first seven goals of the season. Sophomore Patrick Burns is the only player to score more than one goal, blasting a pair in the 3-0 victory over Whitman College. Three different players, including reigning CAC Player of the Year Jalon Brown, have chipped in a goal and an assist to start the season. 

On the defensive side of the ball, CNU has allowed a meager eight total shots so far this season, with only three put on-frame. Seniors Alec Faulkner and Tommy O'Neal have anchored the stingy defensive unit, while junior Sam Lesko earned the start in each of the first two games in goal. 

N.C. Wesleyan opened the season with an explosive outburst in a tournament hosted by Methodist University. The Battling Bishops blistered Cairn, 7-0, and then shut out Bridgewater, 3-0, led offensively by junior Sebastian Wiiala. The reserve forward has scored a pair of goals while also contributing two assists for the Bishops, while like CNU, the team has seen ten different players get at least one point. Rookies Samba Cande and Julius Oskarrson have added nine points combined, and Oskarrson was named the USA South Rookie of the Week after both of his goals held up as the game-winners.