Box Score in HTML Format

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. -- The top-seeded Christopher Newport men's soccer team advanced to the Capital Athletic Conference Championship Game in dramatic fashion on Tuesday night, slipping past #5 Frostburg State in double overtime, 2-1. With 3:39 remaining in the game before penalty kicks would decide the outcome, sophomore Stephen Durbin connected on a sensational diving goal to win the game. CNU will take on #2 Mary Washington on Saturday evening in the CAC Championship with game time to be determined following the women's games on Wednesday. 

With the win, Christopher Newport improved to 16-2-1 and extended the team's 11-game unbeaten streak. Frostburg State closes out the 2016 season with a 9-10-1 overall record. 

In a stroke of coincidence, the game-winning goal was a near replication of the only other overtime gamewinner for the Captains this season, coming against Mary Washington two weeks ago. Durbin's header came off of a pair of assists from Andrew Gogolin and Daniel Zeitoun, with the latter setting up the thrilling shot. Gogolin sprinted up the middle of the field and connected with Zeitoun to the top of the box on the left side. After one touch, the sophomore midfielder lofted a perfectly placed pass toward the back post, where the Captains' leading goal-scorer sacrificed his body for the diving shot. 

He powered the attempt past Frostburg State senior goalkeeper, Hassan Mostafa, into the right side of the goal, sending the CNU bench into a frenzy. Mostafa finished the game with ten saves, including several stunning diving saves in regulation to keep the visitors in the game. In the second half, Jimmy Grace blistered a shot toward the bottom right of the goal, forcing the FSU keeper to make a fully extended diving save.

Setting up the exhilarating finish was a pair of second-half goals scored just seven minutes apart. First, the Captains took a 1-0 lead in the 79th minute on another highlight-reel play by Durbin. The CNU forward received a pass from senior defender Harry Nodwell, flicking the ball on his first touch over his shoulder and into the box for Patrick Burns, who ripped a hard shot into the left side of the netting for the goal. 

Frostburg State answered in the 86th minute on a second-effort play off a set piece from inside the Captains' half. After the ball was cleared out of the box, a Bobcats midfielder shuffled the ball back in, and in tight quarters, a pair of FSU teammates connected before Carvell Akuffo snuck in a shot into the left side to tie the game. 

With short time left in regulation, neither team managed another opportunity and the game went into extra time. The Captains nearly came away with the win in the first OT when Durbin powered a header toward the back post, but Mitchell Love made the team save for Frostburg State, clearing the ball off the goal line to delay the win.

CNU outshot Frostburg State, 27-4, in the game, including a 13-2 advantage in shots on-goal. The Captains also took seven corner kicks while holding the Bobcats without one.

The Captains will now host the CAC Championship Game for the first time since the program joined the league in 2013, hosting Mary Washington at Captains Field on Saturday evening. Live stats and a live video webcast will be available at CNUsports.com/live beginning at kickoff. 

Highlights: