While Christopher Newport looks forward to the return of intercollegiate competitions, CNUSports.com will 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 more great moments in the future.

AT A GLANCE
Making his debut as the head coach of the Christopher Newport men's soccer program, Steve Shaw penned the perfect opening chapter to a storybook career as he began his tenure with a thrilling back-and-forth 4-3 victory over Washington (Md.) on September 7, 1996. The win kicked off a historic turnaround for the Captains and ushered in a new era for the program, which resulted in nine NCAA Tournament berths, five conference championships, and one Hall of Fame career.
 
BACKSTORY
Entering the spring of 1996, Christopher Newport set out to find a new coach for the men's soccer team after Craig Reynolds left the position for a spot as the head assistant coach at national power Virginia. Nearly a decade removed from their last NCAA Tournament appearance, the Captains were looking for a coach to build upon the previous year's 5-11-1 record. They found the perfect match at William & Mary.
 
An assistant coach with the Tribe, Shaw had just finished his sixth year on the sidelines. In 1995, he helped William & Mary compile an 18-6 record, reach the NCAA Sweet 16, and climb as high as 14th in the national rankings.
 
In addition to his work at the collegiate level, Shaw was also a well-respected high school coach. Registering 180 wins in 15 years at various stops ranging from Texas to Virginia, he had five district titles and three regional championships under his belt. Most recently, he served as the leader of the Lafayette High School program in Williamsburg where he mentored numerous collegiate standouts, including five members of the 1996 Captains.
 
GAME RECAP
Already familiar with a large portion of the roster from his time at Lafayette, Shaw was in a perfect position to make a smooth transition to the Christopher Newport sidelines. His debut came at home during a non-conference showdown with Washington (Md.) at Captains Field.
 
From the start, Shaw's crew looked sharp. The Captains burst out to a fast 2-0 lead after Howard Davis opened the scoring in the 18th minute before Ian MacPherson deposited his 38th career dagger, extending his own school record. Although the Shoremen retaliated and evened the score at two entering halftime, Christopher Newport regrouped during the break.
 
Digging in, both defenses stood tall in the second stanza and kept the score deadlocked at two until the 79th minute. At that point, the remainder of the game played out in fitting fashion. B.J. Jenkins, one of Shaw's former standouts at Lafayette, set up the go-ahead goal by MacPherson. Although Washington (Md.) responded less than 60 seconds later, another familiar face added the final nail.
 
Making his own collegiate debut, fellow Lafayette legend Steve Sachs provided the final highlight in Shaw's inaugural appearance. Polishing off the victory, the first-year star capitalized on a feed from MacPherson to lock up the 4-3 triumph.
 
With the victory, Shaw became the first soccer coach in Christopher Newport history to win his collegiate debut.
 
POSTSCRIPT
Following his first victory, Shaw won a few more games. 319, to be exact. During his 23 years as the head coach of the Captains, he led Christopher Newport to an unprecedented run of success. During the 2000 campaign, in just his fifth year as the head coach, he led the program to its first Elite Eight appearance. Three more followed. Record-setting performances, NCAA triumphs, and championship victories were commonplace during his reign from 1996-2018.
 
Of course, what happened after his debut should not have come as a surprise. One of Shaw's greatest achievements came during his first year with the program. Finishing his debut campaign with a 13-5 record, he guided the team to an 8-win improvement over the 1995 squad. At the time, that jump equaled the eighth biggest in NCAA history and the finest for a first-year coach. To this day, it still stands as the fifth-largest improvement for a new coach in Division III men's soccer history.
 
Stepping aside after the 2018 season, he handed the program over to longtime assistant Justin Chezem, who continued the legacy Shaw had built with another NCAA appearance in 2019. Fittingly, Steve Shaw was inducted into the Christopher Newport Athletics Hall of Fame in the spring of 2020.
 
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