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BUENA VISTA, Va. -- The 10th-ranked CNU men's soccer team continued its stellar run to the start of the 2015 season with another win on Tuesday, defeating Southern Virginia University (1-10-0, 0-2-0) by a final score of 3-0. The Captains defense swallowed up any semblance of a SVU attack all night and five different players factored into the scoring on the offensive end. 

With the win, CNU improves to 9-0-3 overall with a 2-0-1 mark in conference play.  The second longest unbeaten streak in the nation was extended to 20 games, including a 12-game roll to start the year.

The CNU defense, which now has seven shutouts in 12 games this season, was a big part of the game on Tuesday, on both ends of the field. First, playing in front of senior goalkeeper Nolan Mann, the Captains allowed just five total shots including just one on-goal. They gave up just three corner kicks and were called for just five total fouls in the contest. Leading the way was senior Sean Christein, who also was a factor offensively, scoring the eventual gamewinning goal. 

In the 30th minute, Christein connected on a header off a cross from Andrew Gogolin. The lone first-half goal beat the Knights goalkeeper, Keenan Carroll, who had a sensational first half for Southern Virginia. In the first 10 minutes of action, Carroll had already turned away four attempts by the Captains as Preston Key, Zach Douglass, Gogolin and Patrick Burns peppered the GK with shots on-frame. Christein's tally was the only goal in the first 45 minutes as CNU held a 16-0 advantage in total shots. 

The dominant performance would translate to a pair of second-half goals as CNU continued to hold a distinct advantage in offensive opportunities. In the 57th minute, leading scorer Patrick Burns smashed a shot off the left post into the goal for his eighth score of the season. The unassisted tally marks the third time in as many appearances that Burns has scored for the Captains, while scoring at least one point in each of the last four games. 

CNU would tack on an insurance goal in the 67th minute when seniors Garrett Van Nutt and Ryan Balfour combined for the final goal. Van Nutt assisted on Balfour's fourth goal of the season while picking up his first helper of the year. 

The Captains finished with a 28-5 advantage in total shots, including a 10-1 edge in shots on-goal. Mann played nearly 70 minutes in goal for CNU, making one save, while rookie Zach Pedini closed out the clean sheet with the final 20:25 in goal. Carroll played the full 90 minutes for the Knights, allowing three goals with seven saves. 

Christopher Newport will return to action this weekend, hosting Frostburg State University (8-3-0, 2-1-0) at 7:00 pm on Saturday, October 10. Live stats and a live video webcast will be available at CNUsports.com/live.