SALISBURY, Md. -- Heading into the final regular season game of the 2022 season on Saturday afternoon, the Christopher Newport University men's soccer team was ranked No. 25 in the nation by the United Soccer Coaches and No. 21 in the country according to the D3soccer.com poll. The Captains (10-3-1) will travel to Salisbury University (4-9-2) on the heels of a 2-1 upset victory over Mary Washington for the Sea Gulls on Wednesday night. The opening kickoff will be played at 1:00 p.m. at the Sea Gull Soccer Stadium. 

CNU has been off since last Saturday, when they suffered a 3-2 setback at Mary Washington in the penultimate regular season game on the road. The Captains will make the trek up the Eastern Shore on Saturday as a preview to the team's trip back to Salisbury, Md. next weekend for the Coast-To-Coast Athletic Conference Championship Tournament. 

The setback to the Eagles ended a modest four-game unbeaten streak for the Captains as the team will look to bounce back against a Salisbury squad they defeated, 3-0, at Captains Field on October 19. The win pulled CNU one game shy of evening the all-time series with an 18-19-5 record in the matchup dating back to 1977. Christopher Newport has won five straight against the Sea Gulls and have lost just one game to SU since 2013 (8-1-4). 

For fans unable to attend the game in person, live stats and a live video webcast will be provided by the Salisbury University Department of Athletics. Links to both can be found on the men's soccer schedule at CNUsports.com. 

Christopher Newport will lean on one of the nation's top defensive units, coming into the game ranked 12th nationally in shutout percentage and 31st in goals-against average. Ryan Kiely, Trevor Smith, and Chris Schram have started all 14 games as part of the dominant defense, along with 14-game starter Ethan Larson in goal. Larson has six solo shutouts and a 0.77 GAA in his first season as the starting netminder while making 32 saves. 

Offensively, transfer Elton Quintanilla leads the squad with eight points on two goals and four assists. The junior is joined in a logjam atop the scoring column by senior Brendan Todd and rookie Asher Kuzemka with seven points apiece. 

Salisbury will counter with a rejuvenated offense that has scored multiple goals in three of the last four contests. Ethan Dolezal leads the way with 15 points on seven goals and one assist, including a brace against Mary Washington on Wednesday night. Sean Barwick, who assisted on the gamewinner, has scored four goals and added an assist in the last five games. 

Following Saturday's finale, the Captains will travel back to Salisbury University next weekend for the C2C Tournament. Game times and official seeding will be announced early in the week and fans are encouraged to stay tuned to CNUsports.com for more information.