NEWPORT NEWS, Va. – On a sweltering day wrapping up the month of August and kicking off the 2018 men's soccer season, the Christopher Newport Captains offense was red hot, scoring five second-half goals to run away with a 6-1 victory over Greensboro College. Junior David Eddleton led the way with a pair of scoring strikes to lead CNU to a season-opening win in the 2018 Joe Pombriant CNU Soccer Classic
 
The Captains got six goals from five different players as the nation's second-ranked offense from 2017 got right back to it this season. Last season, the Captains averaged 3.67 goals per game last season, ranking second only to Rowan College's 3.70. The offensive explosion got started right out of the gates, as the Captains scored in the first minute of the match. A pair of senior All-Conference players connected for the season-opening goal as midfielder Andrew Maeso found Stephen Durbin for the score.
 
The Captains' All-Region forward deposited his first touch of the season into the back of the net just 47 seconds into the match. Maeso played a through ball down the right side to Durbin, who smashed a hard shot across the box into the left side of the goal. The goal is the 24^th of Durbin's career.
 
The first big chance for Greensboro came in the 13^th minute of play when Gerardo Peraza slipped through a pair of defenders on the left side of the box. He dribbled toward the goal, but CNU senior goalkeeper Zach Pedini made a sprawling save just outside the six-yard box.
 
With 17:02 remaining on the clock, the teams endured a 45-minute lightning delay before returning to play at close to 9:00 pm. Carrying a 1-0 lead into the break, the Captains would hold that edge for the remainder of the first half.
 
The Captain added a pivotal insurance tally off a corner kick just under 15 minutes into the second half. Rookie Cory Hogge took the free kick from the corner and laced a low pass into the box. Jordan Boone connected on the first shot, saved by the Greensboro keeper, but his deflection went right to the foot of Derek Cook, who blistered a hard shot into the center of the goal. The score would hold up as the game-winning goal after Greensboro cut the lead in half minutes later.
 
Greensboro got on the board when Thomas Gittany started a play with a long service into the box which was then headed across by Carlos Barragan. Finishing the play for the goal was sophomore Alexander Bishop, scoring the first goal of the season for the Pride.
 
CNU scored again when David Eddleton stepped in with a low shot for a penalty kick goal after a hard foul in the box. With a two-goal lead again, the Captains offense stayed hot, scoring the team's fourth goal on a beautiful combination play at the top of the box. Michael Wilson started the play with a drive by his defender before slipping a pass to Justin Wilson. The Wilson-to-Wilson combo then resulted in a spinning pass to rookie Tanner Dail, wide open down the center of the box. Dail hammered a hard shot into the center of the netting for his first career goal.

Opening the game wide open now, the Christopher Newport reserves kept the party going late into the night. Eddleton picked up his second goal of the night in the 73rd minute after a dazzling dribbling display in the middle of the box. Taking on multiple defenders, the junior midfielder finally broke free on the left side with enough space to deliver another blow into the back of the net. Finally, the Captains offense rounded out the night with another rookie score as Will Collins finished a beautiful crossing pass from senior Keoni Rison. 

CNU outshot the Pride, 23-6, with a 13-5 advantage in shots on-goal. 

Christopher Newport will be back in action on Sunday, September 2, as they host the finale of the Joe Pombriant CNU Soccer Classic against Pfeiffer University at 1:00 pm. The Falcons captured a 3-1 win over Virginia Wesleyan in the opening game on Friday.