NEWPORT NEWS, Va. -- Set up as a battle between two of the nation's top teams competing for the Capital Athletic Conference Men's Soccer Championship, the 23rd-ranked and top-seeded Christopher Newport men's soccer team will play host to No. 15 and second-seeded Mary Washington on Saturday at 6:00 pm. The postseason tournament culminates at Captains Field where the winning team will earn the conference crown and it's accompanying automatic berth into the Division III NCAA Championship.
The rubber match between the two programs will be played in the natural grass facility in Newport News after the teams split the regular season bouts with both team's holding serve at home. Christopher Newport captured a 2-0 win at Captains Field on October 5 before the Eagles won, 1-0, in overtime in Fredericksburg on October 19.
Admission to the championship match is $5 for adults and $3 for children. Christopher Newport students with a valid ID will be admitted free of charge. For fans unable to attend in person, a live video webcast and live stats will be available online at CNUsports.com. Links to both can be found on the men's soccer schedule.
The game figures to be a defensive battle as both teams are ranked in the top-15 nationally in goals-against average. Christopher Newport's ninth-ranked defense leads the league with a 0.58 GAA while Mary Washington ranks 13th with a 0.63 mark heading into Saturday's head-to-head.
Leading the Captains defense is senior
Derek Cook, who was named the CAC Defensive Player of the Year earlier in the day on Friday. Cook leads the squad in scoring with 18 points (6g, 6a) while also anchoring a defense that has held opponents to just 11 goals in 18 games played. Senior goalkeeper
Justin Piercy ranks 13th in the nation in save percentage (.863) and 17th in goals-against average (0.61).
Offensively,
Lincoln Kickbush is tied for the team lead in scoring with Cook after scoring eight points and two assists this year. Junior
Justin Wilson and sophomore
Will Collins each earned first team All-CAC honors and are tied for third on the team in scoring with 12 points apiece.
Mary Washington will counter with a defense that ranks second in the conference led by first team All-Conference goalkeeper Kenny Kurtz. Kurtz ranks 29th nationally in save percentage (.838) and 28th in GAA (0.70). The Eagles offense led the conference in goals (46) and points (122) with four players leading the way in double figures. Seniors Gabriel Soriano, with 21 points, and Jacob Lovinger, with 17 points, pace the attack while junior Jeremy Hokenson and Josh Kirkland add 16 and 13, respectively.
The winning team will advance automatically into the NCAA DIII Championship. The selection show for the postseason tournament will be announced on NCAA.com Monday afternoon.
