NEWPORT NEWS, Va. -- Playing as the top seed in the Capital Athletic Conference Tournament for the third time in the last four seasons, the nationally-ranked Christopher Newport men's soccer team will host fourth-seeded York College of Pennsylvania in the semifinal round on Wednesday night. Kickoff is slated for 7:30 pm, immediately following a women's semifinal matchup at Captains Field. 

Admission to the event is $5 for adults and $3 for children. Live stats and a live video webcast will be available to fans unable to attend in person with links found on the men's soccer schedule at CNUsports.com. 

This will be just the second all-time meeting between the Captains and Spartans in the CAC Tournament with York advancing after a penalty kick shootout in a 2-2 decision during the 2013 tournament. The all-time series between the two teams slightly favors Christopher Newport, 8-7-5, after a pair of wins against the Spartans this season. 

Overall, the 23rd-ranked Christopher Newport men's soccer squad comes into Wednesday night's matchup with a 12-2-3 overall record and the outright regular season conference title with a 9-1-0 record against CAC foes. York (Pa.) has posted a 9-8-2 overall record and went 4-6-0 in league action to secure the hosting rights and No. 4 seed in the opening round against No. 5-seed Salisbury. In that game, York earned a dramatic 2-1 double overtime victory on a penalty kick in the final minutes. 

The win snapped a three-game slide by the Spartans, who had lost four of five games coming into the postseason. Christopher Newport has won nine of the last ten games while leaning on a terrific defense that has registered six shutouts in that stretch. 

The Captains have relied heavily on the suffocating defense that has quietly put together one of the finest seasons in program history. Led by senior center back Derek Cook, who has started all 17 games, the Captains boast a 0.61 goals-against average and an .855 save percentage on 135 shots faced this season. Junior Davis Pillow has also started all 17 games on the back line with Daniel Hulett starting 15 and Khari Jones starting 13. The defense has allowed just 8.2 shots per game and only 4.5 of those have been on frame. 

The back line has supported senior Justin Piercy in goal who has been sensational in his first season between the pipes. Starting all 17 games and playing all but 67 minutes of action this season, Piercy has rushed his name up the single season goalkeeping charts at Christopher Newport with a 0.64 GAA and .849 save percentage. He has allowed 11 goals on 73 shots on-goal this season with five solo shutouts. 

Offensively, the Captains have been explosive at times with ten multi-goal performances, including seven with three or more goals scored in a game. Cook has been involved, leading the team in scoring with 18 points on 6 goals and 6 assists, while forwards Lincoln Kickbush, Justin Wilson, and Will Collins have all had exceptional campaigns up top. Kickbush leads the team with seven goals while Wilson and Collins have poured in 12 points apiece while combining for five game-winning goals. 

The Captains defeated York, 3-0, at Captains Field in the first game of the conference season and then picked up a 1-0 win over the Spartans on October 26 in one of the final games of the regular season slate. The Spartans have only been shut out four times outside of the Captains matchups and have scored at least one goal in seven of the last ten games. 

Leading the York offense has been junior Zion Friday with 17 points on eight goals and one assist. Sophomore Travis Gould is the only other Spartan in double figures with 10 points on four goals and two assists. Defensively, York has employed three different goalkeepers in starts this season with junior Bill Bridegum getting the majority of the workload with 10 starts in his third season. Bridegum has a 1.48 goals against average with three shutouts. 

The winning team on Wednesday night will advance to the 2019 CAC Championship on Saturday, November 9. The other semifinal features #2-seed Mary Washington hosting #3-seed St. Mary's (Md.) at 2:30 pm. The highest seed remaining will host the title match.