While Christopher Newport looks forward to the return of intercollegiate competitions, our friends at TowneBank are partnering with CNUsports.com to spend some time throughout the fall semester looking back at a few of the more memorable moments in the storied history of the athletic department. Over the course of the next three months, the Captains will honor the anniversary of three dozen record-setting accomplishments, championship-clinching victories, and other historic events in order to celebrate the past while preparing for even more great moments in the future.

AT A GLANCE
Registering the biggest win in the first two decades of the Christopher Newport men's soccer program, the Captains toppled top-ranked UNC Greensboro, 2-1, during a Dixie Conference clash in Newport News on September 27, 1986. Polishing off the upset over the defending national champions, Chris Frazier buried a 15-yard rocket in the 88th minute to seal the victory. The win marked Christopher Newport's first triumph over a top-ranked opponent and helped carry the 1986 squad into the national playoffs for the first time in program history.
 
BACKSTORY
When head coach Seth Roland took over the Christopher Newport men's soccer program in 1982, the Captains were coming off a 2-11-1 campaign. They only had two winning seasons in their entire history and were carrying an all-time winning percentage that was just a touch over 35 percent. In short, times were tough.
 
Four years later, times were better.
 
Entering the 1986 campaign, Roland's crew had finished above .500 in each of the previous three seasons, including a program-best 12-6-2 record in 1985. Knocking on the door of national prominence, the Captains had received votes in the coaches poll for the first time ever in 1985 and welcomed back a roster loaded with veteran experience in 1986.
 
Headlining the returners, the senior class was a legendary collection of decorated talent. The nine seniors included seven members of Roland's initial recruiting class, including All-American Gerard Mosley. A dominant force on both sides of the field, Mosley was already a three-time first-team All-Region selection and one of the top players in the nation.
 
Along with Mosley, fellow seniors Chris Frazier and Bill Dittmar entered the 1986 season ranked in the top-five on the program's all-time scoring list, while Rick Longobardi had already shattered nearly every goalkeeping record in school history.
 
Bolstered by the veteran portion of the roster, the 1986 Captains got off to a fantastic start. Posting five shutouts in their first eight games, the squad climbed to 13th in the national coaches poll. Already recognized as one of the country's top up-and-coming programs, Christopher Newport had an opportunity to solidify its stature with a showdown against a national heavyweight.
 
OPPOSITION RESEARCH
On the surface, labeling the men's soccer program at UNC Greensboro a "Division III dynasty" seems like an accurate descriptor for the school's run of dominance in the 1980s. But upon closer inspection, it's a flawed statement. The Spartans weren't a Division III dynasty. They were much better than that.
 
Sure, the Spartans won five of the six national championships between 1982 and 1987. And, yes, they reached seven consecutive quarterfinals and ran through the Dixie Conference with impunity, snatching 28 consecutive regular season league games while winning six straight postseason tournaments. All of that screams, "Division III dynasty." Until you see their other wins.
 
During a simple three-game road swing in 1985, UNC Greensboro knocked off both Wake Forest and North Carolina. And those weren't isolated games. The Spartans consistently faced - and beat - programs from the upper levels of the NCAA. In fact, in the three years prior to their bout with the Captains, UNC Greensboro had lost to only one Division III program. Their other setbacks during that period came at the hands of schools like Duke and South Carolina with overtime losses against Notre Dame and Bruce Arena's 1984 Virginia squad.
 
UNC Greensboro wasn't a Division III dynasty when the team arrived in Newport News in 1986. The Spartans were a soccer powerhouse.
 
GAME RECAP
Facing the top-ranked team in the country, Christopher Newport relied on its stingy defensive unit to keep pace with the high-powered UNC Greensboro attack. While the Spartans possessed the ball for the majority of the first half, the Captains were able to absorb the early surges and launch quick counters to break up the momentum.
 
Although UNC Greensboro's Carl Fleming was able to open the scoring with a 25-yard strike late in the first half, Christopher Newport regrouped and pieced together a response after the break.
 
Orchestrating their best offensive stand of the game, the Captains landed the equalizer less than five minutes into the second stanza. Following a corner kick by Chris Frazier, the ball deflected off Bill Dittmar, who was positioned just outside of the cage. Pouncing on the loose ball, Lui Fiscella snared the bouncer and tapped in Christopher Newport's first goal to even the score at one.
 
On equal footing, both squads dug in for an epic defensive struggle over the final 40 minutes. Anchored by Gerard Mosley, the Captains slammed the door on UNC Greensboro's relentless attack. Keeping the visitors off the scoreboard, the back line bottled up a slew of offensive runs, while Rick Longobardi snatched four saves and came out to stymie several other rallies to keep the game deadlocked at one.
 
On the other side, Christopher Newport followed the game plan of launching counters down the wings. Keeping the Spartans on their heels, the Captains continued to poke at the defending champions until Frazier finally found an opening with two minutes left in regulation.
 
Slipping free for a moment inside the penalty area, Frazier chested a pass from Will Sullivan. Playing the ball perfectly, the senior forward danced around a closing defender before firing a missile underneath goalkeeper Keith Moser, who was unable to stop the rocket despite a sprawling attempt inside the net.
 
Two minutes after Frazier deposited his 15-yard bullet, the final horn sounded, giving Christopher Newport its hallmark victory.
 
POSTSCRIPT
Not only were the 1986 Captains one of the rare Division III teams to defeat UNC Greensboro, but they were also one of the last to accomplish the feat. Following that game, the Spartans continued their incredible run while claiming national titles in 1986 and 1987. After their final championship, they began their transition to Division I, leaving Christopher Newport as one of the final blemishes on their historic run of dominance.
 
While the 1986 squad helped usher in the end of UNC Greensboro's dynasty, it was equally important in putting Christopher Newport on the map. The Captains ended the regular season on a 10-game winning streak and earned the program's first bid to the NCAA Tournament. Eventually finishing with an 18-5 record, the squad wrapped up the year ranked 10th in the national coaches poll.
 
For his work during the year, Mosley earned first-team All-American honors, while Longobardi, Frazier, and Fiscella joined him on the All-Region squad. Dittmar and Junior Carter were also All-League selections, and Roland was named the Dixie Conference Coach of the Year.
 
Following the season, Roland departed for the head job at Division II Bridgeport before transforming Fairleigh Dickinson into a Division I power in recent years. In fact, building upon his legendary success at Christopher Newport, he became the first coach in collegiate history to lead a team from all three levels of the NCAA to a top-15 ranking in the final national coaches poll.
 
Mosley returned to the program as an assistant coach in 1987 and was inducted into the Christopher Newport Athletics Hall of Fame in 1993. Shortly thereafter, he was joined by a pair of his classmates. Frazier was enshrined in 1996 and Longobardi joined the exclusive club in 1997, making Roland's initial recruiting class one of the most successful and celebrated groups of student-athletes in school history.
 
For a full listing of the fall 2020 features published to date, click here.
---ISH---