NEWPORT NEWS, Va. -- Earning the first regular season national ranking since the 2016 season, the Christopher Newport men's soccer team vaulted all the way to No. 21 nationally after a 2-0 performance last week. The Captains (6-1-3, 3-0-0) will face St. Mary's (Md.) at home on Wednesday night, hosting the Seahawks at 7:00 pm. 

After defeating nationally-ranked Mary Washington last Saturday, the Captains caught the attention of voters in both the D3soccer.com Top 25 and the United Soccer Coaches national rankings. Christopher Newport is now ranked No. 21 in the coaches poll and moved up to No. 23 in the D3soccer.com media poll. 

The ranking is the first in the head coaching career of Justin Chezem and comes in the fifth poll of the 2019 season. 

The Captains have won three games in a row to start conference play, outscoring opponents 7-0 in that stretch. The last win was a 2-0 win over then-11th-ranked Mary Washington in which Justin Wilson and Ethan Larson picked up goals for Christopher Newport. Earlier in the season, the Captains also earned a 1-1 draw against then-6th-ranked Washington & Lee. 

Sophomore Lincoln Kickbush leads the offense coming off the bench with 10 points on five goals scored. Senior Derek Cook, who was named the Defensive Player of the Week in the Capital Athletic Conference, is tied for the team lead with 10 points on three goals and four assists. Wilson has deadly accurate from the field, putting 16 of his 26 shots on frame for a team-best .615 on-goal percentage. 

Defensively, senior Justin Piercy has started all 10 games, picking up three shutouts with seven goals allowed for a 0.67 GAA. He has allowed just one goal in the last five games over 475 minutes played for a 0.19 goals-against average while making 20 saves in a 3-0-2 stretch for the Captains. He has also added a pair of assists this season. 

The Captains will face the St. Mary's College Seahawks on Wednesday night for the 24th time in the all-time series. Christopher Newport owns a 17-5-1 advantage in the matchup, including a 2-1 victory at Captains Field last season. This is the first of two regular season outings against St. Mary's (Md.), who have opened the season with an 8-2-1 overall record and 2-1-0 start to CAC action. 

The Seahawks are receiving votes in the D3soccer.com Top 25 and feature the league's top scoring offense averaging 2.73 goals per game. Led by Khalid Balogun with 12 goals and Josh McRobie with 17 total points, the Seahawks have scored multiple goals in each of their eight wins this season. St. Mary's opened the conference season with a 4-0 loss to Mary Washington but bounced back for a pair of 2-1 wins against York (Pa.) and Salisbury. 

For fans unable to attend the game at Captains Field in person, a live video webcast and live stats will be available at CNUsports.com. 

Following Wednesday's action, the Captains will hit the road for three straight, traveling to Salisbury University for their next game on October 12 at 2:00 pm.