NEWPORT NEWS, Va. -- The nationally-ranked Christopher Newport men's soccer team will welcome Salisbury University (2-9-2) on Wednesday evening at Captains Field after moving up in both the United Soccer Coaches and D3soccer.com Top 25 polls. The Captains (9-2-1) will entertain first touch at 5:00 p.m. ranked tied for 16th in the United Soccer Coaches National Rankings and 15th according to the D3soccer.com poll. 

CNU shots up five spots in the D3soccer.com poll after back-to-back impressive defensive showings with shutouts against Washington and Lee and St. Mary's (Md.). The Captains slid up three spots in the United Soccer Coaches poll after earning the No. 19 designation last week. 

The gates open at Captains Field at 4:00 p.m. with a doubleheader planned for Wednesday night. Following the men's soccer game at 5:00 p.m., the top-ranked CNU women's soccer team will welcome Mary Washington at 7:00 p.m. For fans who are unable to attend in person, live stats and a live video webcast will be available at CNUsports.com. 

The men's soccer bout will pit the Captains and Sea Gulls against eachother for the 42nd time in the all-time series. Salisbury holds a slight edge, 19-17-5, but Christopher Newport has won four straight and has dropped a game to the Sea Gulls just once in the last 12 games (7-1-4). All but two of those contests were decided by a goal or less, as the Coast-To-Coast Athletic Conference rivals have battled back-and-forth since CNU joined the league in 2013-14. 

Christopher Newport has leaned on a talented defense that ranks ninth nationally in shutout percentage (.667) and 21st overall in goals-against average (0.593). Two different Captains have twice been named the C2C Defensive Player of the Week, including junior Jonathon Leiding who has been selected in back-to-back weeks heading into Wednesday's matchup. He has been joined on the back line by Ryan Kiely, Jonah Fitz, Kyle Stenzel, and Jacob Dudley as the stifling defense has helped fifth-year goalkeeper Ethan Larson put together a terrific year in net. 

Offensively, newcomers Elton Quintanilla and Ryan Machado-Jones have made an impact with 13 points combined, headlining a group of fresh faces that make up five of the top six scorers for CNU this year. Rookies Asher Kuzemka, Matt Liss, and Stenzel, a transfer, round out the group at the top of the scoring column for CNU. At the top, though, is senior midfielder Brendan Todd with a team-high three goals and one assist for seven points, including two game-winning goals. 

Salisbury is just 2-9-2 but has scored multiple goals in four of the last six games this season. Sean Barwick has been leading the way with four goals while Ethan Dolezal has the team lead in scoring with four tallies and an assist. In goal, the Sea Gulls have seen three different players start three games or more this season -- sophomore Zach Walega has been called on most recently with three straight starts and a 2.71 goals-against average in just over 230 minutes this season. 

Following the matchup against Salisbury on Wednesday, the Captains will turn around and prepare for a road trip to face No. 24 Mary Washington on Saturday afternoon.