ST. MARY'S CITY, Md. -- Following an undefeated run through the first round of action in Capital Athletic Conference regular season play, the Christopher Newport men's soccer team has moved up to No. 17 in the United Soccer Coaches national rankings. The Captains are 8-1-3 overall and 5-0-0 in league play as they travel to St. Mary's (Md.) for the second matchup against the Seahawks in eight days, kicking off at 7:00 pm on the road Wednesday night.
Christopher Newport moved up four spots in the most recent national rankings, hauling in their highest posting in the top 25 since 2016. The Captains are unbeaten in their last seven games and have just one loss this season.
On Wednesday, the Captains will travel to Maryland to wrap up the home and home series at St. Mary's. The two teams matched up last week at Captains Field with Christopher Newport taking a 3-1 win. Since then, the Captains earned a 2-1 win at Salisbury while St. Mary's returned home for a 2-1 win against Southern Virginia. The Seahawks are now 9-3-1 overall and 3-2-0 in CAC action. Christopher Newport is now 18-5-1 all-time against St. Mary's (Md.).
St. Mary's has won three of the last four games with senior forward Khalid Balogun leading the league in scoring. Balogun has 30 points on 13 goals and four assists in his final campaign, including a tally against Christopher Newport last week. Senior Josh McRobie has added 21 points on 8 goals and 5 assists as the Seahawks come into Wednesday night with one of the top home records at 6-1-0.
Christopher Newport will counter with a 3-0-1 record in road games this season and one of the nation's top defensive units. The Captains rank 36th nationally in goals-against average with a 0.70 mark this season behind senior goalkeeper
Justin Piercy. Piercy stopped a potential game-tying save in the final seconds of the win at Salisbury for his 47th save of the year while raising his save percentage to 84%. He has three shutouts and has allowed just nine goals in over 1120 minutes of play.
The midfield unit has been terrific as well as junior
Gabo Caicedo and sophomore
Ethan Larson have controlled the middle of the park. On the outside, rookie
Colin McMunn and senior
Michael Wilson have helped bolster the Captains offense with sophomores
Lincoln Kickbush and
Will Collins patrolling the top of the attack. Kickbush leads the team in scoring with 14 points on 6 goals and 2 assists.
Live stats and a live video webcast will be provided by the St. Mary's (Md.) Department of Athletics on Wednesday night for fans who can not attend the game in person.
Following the Wednesday night battle, the Captains will stay on the road to face Mary Washington on Saturday, October 19.
