NEWPORT NEWS, Va. -- In both the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) and D3soccer.com National Rankings, the Christopher Newport men's soccer team has moved up to fourth. The Captains are up from 7th last week and will look to continue their unbeaten streak to start the season on Wednesday night when they host Lynchburg College (4-1-1) at 7:00 pm. 

Christopher Newport is unbeaten through the first eight games, posting a 7-0-1 overall record after a perfect 2-0 mark last week. It's the third time since 2010 the Captains have opened the year without a loss in their first eight games. 

The NSCAA Division III National Rankings listed CNU at 7th last week before the Captains clawed up to fourth this week. They are behind Tufts, Kenyon and Franklin & Marshall in order, while Wisconsin-Whitewater rounds out the top five. In the D3soccer.com Top 25, the same top three edge out CNU while Carnegie Mellon is fifth. CNU also retained its spot atop the NSCAA South Atlantic Regional Rankings.

Christopher Newport will close out non-conference play on Wednesday night when they welcome in the Lynchburg Hornets for a 7:00 pm matchup. CNU owns a slight 8-7-4 advantage in the all-time series, including a thrilling 1-0 win at home in the NCAA Tournament last season. 

This season, the Captains offense has been impressive, scoring multiple goals in five of the eight games played, and picking up three come-from-behind victories. Junior Patrick Burns has led the way with five goals and two assists for 12 points, while putting over 60% of his shots on-goal. Senior Ryan Balfour has a pair of game-winning goals and has added two assists for six points. 

Defensively, senior Nolan Mann has seen all the action in goal for the Captains, posting a 72.7% save percentage and allowing just six goals for a 0.70 GAA. 

The Hornets come into Wednesday night's matchup riding a five-game unbeaten streak, outscoring opponents 17-2 during the stretch. Lynchburg has been strong defensively, picking up four shutouts and boasting a 0.80 goals against average. Junior goalkeeper Cory Budka has played all but one half and owns an .815 save percentage to lead the way.

Offensively, Lynchburg has gotten five goals from sophomore Ryan Mayolo, while Fredy Flores, Collin Kashmer and Chris Dodd have each added three. The Hornets offense is averaging over three goals per game and has yet to score fewer than two goals in a game this year. 

The game will be the 400th in the career of head coach Steve Shaw, who boasts a 276-94-29 overall record for a .728 winning percentage.

Live video and live stats will be available at CNUsports.com/live. 


NSCAA NCAA Division III Men - National Rankings - Poll 2 (September 22, 2015)

Rank	School	Prev.	W-L-T
1	Tufts University	1	5-0-0
2	Kenyon College	3	6-0-0
3	Franklin & Marshall College	4	7-0-0
4	Christopher Newport University	7	7-0-1
5	University of Wisconsin-Whitewater	14	7-0-0
6	Calvin College	15	5-0-1
7	Amherst College	10	5-0-0
8	Whitworth University	16	6-0-0
9	Denison University	12	6-0-0
10	Loras College	6	5-1-1
11	University Of Chicago	5	6-1-0
12	Montclair State University	9	6-1-0
13	Carnegie Mellon University	17	5-1-0
14	Eastern University	NR	6-0-1
15	Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute	13	7-0-0
16	Brandeis University	25	6-1-0
17	University of Texas-Dallas	20	6-1-1
18	Washington University (Mo.)	24	4-1-2
19	St. Lawrence University	8	5-2-1
20	Saint John's University	NR	6-1-1
21	Occidental College	NR	5-0-1
22	Salisbury University	RV	5-1-0
23	Drew University	NR	6-0-1
24	Eastern Connecticut State University	19	6-0-1
25	Thomas More College	NR	5-1-0

Also receiving votes: Stockton University (13), Plattsburgh State University (12), Trinity University (Texas) (12), Colorado College (12), Rowan University (10), North Park University (9), Gettysburg College (3), Messiah College (3)