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FREDERICKSBURG, Va. -- In the first of two semifinal games played at the Battlefield Outdoor Complex on Friday, the top-seeded Christopher Newport men's soccer team will match up against #5 UC Santa Cruz at 11:00 am. The Captains (8-4-2) will play the Banana Slugs (8-9-2) for the first time in program history in the postseason matchup with a trip to the Coast-To-Coast Athletic Conference Championship Game on the line.
Live stats and a live video webcast will be available, courtesy of the University of Mary Washington Department of Athletics. Links to both can be found at the top of this page and on the men's soccer schedule at CNUsports.com.
The Captains are looking to lift the conference championship trophy for the first time since 2016. CNU has won five conference tournament championships, all in the last 11 seasons. UC Santa Cruz picked up a 1-0 overtime win over #4 Salisbury in Thursday's opening round and is looking to make the program's first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2009. The winner of Friday's semifinal will advance to the C2C Championship on Saturday at 1:00 pm to take on either #2 Mary Washington or #3 Wisconsin-Whitewater.
Powered by seven All-Conference selections, the 24th-ranked Captains have won five of the last six games while scoring multiple goals in each of those five victories. Senior
Will Collins leads the CNU attack with 11 points on four goals and three assists. Fellow All-Conference picks
Chris Schram,
Owen Burnett, and
Cory Hogge have each scored at least three goals this season and round out the top four scorers for the Captains this season.
The league's Defensive Player of the Year hails from Christopher Newport as senior
Davis Pillow picked up the conference honor earlier this week. The center back pairs with fellow fifth-year All-Conference defender
Daniel Hulett and sophomore goalkeeper
Gabe Barros to provide the Captains with a stingy back line that has held opponents to just 16 goals in 14 games this season.
Santa Cruz counters with a strong run at the end of the season also, winning four straight heading into Friday's matchup. Luca Bravo and Itay Rabinovich have a team-leading eight points apiece, with Bravo tied for the team lead in goals with three.
