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NEWPORT NEWS, Va. -- Playing on a soaked Captains Field in the middle of a rainstorm, the 21st-ranked Christopher Newport men's soccer team opened the 2017 season with a splash on Friday night, racing away from Regent University for a 10-0 win. The Captains (1-0-0) scored nine first-half goals, including five in a span of just over six minutes. 

Regent University was playing in the program's first ever contest, taking on the Captains in the 2017 Joe Pombriant/CNU Soccer Classic. 

CNU scored ten goals in a game for the first time since October 1, 2003 and for only the ninth time in program history. The first came just 2:09 into the contest and kicked off a flurry of seven goals in just under twelve minutes of action. Junior Stephen Durbin notched the game-winning goal in the third minute of action off assists from rookie Davis Pillow and senior Jimmy Grace. Pillow played a ball up the right side into the box, where last year's CAC Player of the Year and All-American, Grace, delivered a picture-perfect pass across the box for Durbin to deposit into an empty net. 

Grace would pick up his first goal of the season just 1:13 later on a very similar goal on the other side of the field. Senior defender Cameron Vaughn played a ball into the corner for junior Andrew Gogolin, who was free of all defenders and slipped a low pass across the goalmouth for Grace. The senior leader would factor into each of the next two goals, assisting on Gogolin's first goal of the year, and scoring his second on an open look from the top of the box. 

Durbin added his second goal of the year as CNU opened a 5-0 lead just 8:32 into the contest. Pillow set up the shot for his second career assist as head coach Steve Shaw began to clear his bench. 

The reserves kept the flood gates open, scoring four more goals in the first half. Andrew Maeso set up a shot from James Lee that would go in off the left post and Teig Lesko then chipped in an unassisted tally in the 14th minute after dribbling head-to-head against the goalkeeper before slipping a shot into the left side. 

Before the end of the first half, a pair of players picked up their first collegiate goals. In the 39th minute, Michael Pelletier set up a goal by rookie Justin Wilson to make it 8-0 for the home team. Just over a minute later, Wilson added an assist, setting up Noah Peizer for his first goal with a one-touch shot into the right side. 

After carrying a 9-0 lead into halftime, the Captains would tack on just one more goal in the second half, with a penalty kick strike in the 70th minute. Peizer delivered the score after an illegal tackle in the box awarded the Captains a penalty kick attempt. Shortly after, the referees called the match due to poor playing conditions in the steady downpour. 

Three different Captains combined for the shutout: Zach Pedini (27:40), Luke Pfeifer (25:07),  and Justin Piercy (17:20). Pfeifer faced the only shot of the game for Regent, and turned it away with a save in the second half. CNU outshot the Royals, 15-1, putting 11 of 15 shots on-frame. 

Christopher Newport will return to action on Saturday, with a nationally-ranked showdown against No. 24 Washington & Lee at 7:30 pm.