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GRANTHAM, Pa. -- Behind a dominating offensive performance that featured five goals from four different players, the 21st-ranked Christopher Newport men's soccer team advanced to the NCAA Division III Tournament Second Round on Saturday night, after dispatching of the Montclair State Red Hawks, 5-1. The Captains improved to 18-2-1 overall this season following their 19th multi-goal effort, while the Red Hawks bowed out of the postseason with a 16-6-1 overall record. 

Senior midfielder and CAC Player of the Year Jimmy Grace highlighted the action for the Captains, scoring twice, including the game-winning goal, to spark the finest offensive performance in CNU men's soccer postseason history. The Captains scored a program-best five goals, and matched the largest margin of victory in NCAA Tournament history with the four-goal victory, setting up a huge second round battle on Sunday night. 

"We did enough good things tonight to play a good game. I think we took advantage of the things that were offered to us tonight," said head coach Steve Shaw. "We're a pretty good counter-attacking team and [Montclair State] left some areas for us to take advantage."

Christopher Newport will face off against host and fourth-ranked Messiah College (18-0-3) at 5:00 pm on Sunday evening, taking on the 10-time national champion Falcons after a 6-0 win in their first round action against Centenary College. The two teams have faced off only once in the NCAA Tournament, where Messiah earned a 2-1 double overtime victory in the 2008 Elite Eight en route to a national championship. 

The action would get off to a quick start, as three goals were on the board in the first nine minutes of action. The Captains struck first, when sophomore Stephen Durbin connected with classmate Zachary Ballard in the box for a goal not even a minute and a half into the game. It was Ballard's seventh goal of the season, as he connected into the left side of the net after a cross in from Durbin. 

The Red Hawks would respond just as quickly, when Mike Olla scored 78 seconds later off an assist by Kevin Simek.  It was Olla's tenth goal of the year and the two offensive juggernauts appeared ready for a slugfest. 

The third goal in the opening spurt would come via the penalty kick spot, when Grace stepped up to deliver what would eventually hold up as the game-winning goal. With the goal, Grace is now 4-for-4 in penalty kick attempts this season, tied for the second most in a single season in Christopher Newport history.

After scoring three combined goals in the first 8:53, the Captains and Red Hawks would settle in defensively for the remainder of the first half, and CNU carried a 2-1 lead into the break. While the shot count was near even, with the Captains holding an 8-6 advantage, it was CNU that held possession for most of the opening stanza. 

In the second half, the flood gates opened for the Captains, as the CNU offense scored three goals in a 21-minute stretch in the middle of the period. Junior midfielder Andrew Gogolin started things off in the 58th minute with a nice move at the top of the box. After getting a pass from Daniel Zeitoun, Gogolin faked with his right foot and then cut back for a left-footed dart into the bottom left corner of the goal. Just under four minutes later, Gogolin would set up Grace for his second goal of the game, giving the Captains a commanding three-goal lead, 4-1. 

In the 79th minute, the CNU offense would tack on one more score with a goal from senior defender Sammy Blosser. After stealing the ball from Montclair State, Blosser dribbled up field by himself before unleashing a missile from just outside the box into the left side of the goal. It was Blosser's fourth goal of the season, and iced the blowout victory with a fifth tally for the Captains. 

Olla led the Montclair State attack, which was playing without the nation's second leading goal scorer, Lucas Terci, who was sitting out after a red card. Olla took 12 of the Red Hawks' 18 attempts on the night, putting three on frame. The CNU defense allowed only four shots on-goal, and sophomore goalkeeper Zach Pedini turned away three. It was only the fifth time this season the Red Hawks were held to one goal or fewer. 

Heading into Sunday's heavyweight bout with Messiah, the Captains are riding a 13-game unbeaten streak (12-0-1) and the Falcons are undefeated over the same stretch (13-0-0). 

"All we can do is get all the rest we can possibly get," said Shaw. "I know Messiah pretty well; we've played them five times in my career. We know they're a great team, and we'll see how well we can do against them."

Kickoff is slated for 5:00 pm from Shoemaker Field in Grantham, Pa. Live stats and live video will be available at the time of play, with links available at CNUsports.com. 

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