NEWPORT NEWS, Va. -- Powered by a dominant second-half performance that saw the 24th-ranked Christopher Newport men's soccer team score four goals by four different players, the Captains soared past the Virginia Wesleyan Marlins (7-3-2) on a crisp evening at Captains Field, 4-0. Despite the offensive fireworks, a stalwart defensive effort highlighted the action on Wednesday as Ethan Larson and his back line notched a shutout against the talented Marlins attack, allowing just four shots in the game. 

Playing without two starters in the back as seniors Kyle Stenzel and Jacob Dudley took the night off for Christopher Newport, the rest of the defensive unit looked motivated to stand tall in their stead. Building patiently from the defense, the Captains got an exceptional first half from Jonah Fitz, Jonathon Leiding, Ryan Kiely, and Chris Schram as the starting back line. The connecting passes through the midfield were controlled by Trevor Smith and Mason Field as the two were also integral pieces of the defensive effort. 

Coming into the mid-week matchup against their cross-water rivals, the Marlins were averaging 14.5 shots per game and nearly eight of them were on target. Against the Captains' defense, Virginia Wesleyan was held to just two shots in either half without allowing a single shot on goal.

On the other end of the field, the offensive chances were plentiful, starting very early into the game. In the 13th minute, Matt Liss collected the ball through contact on the left side before working his way back to the top of the box. He chipped an arcing pass toward the back post where Barry Jones was left alone for a header. He put his shot on frame, but the Marlins keeper made the save. One of the best chances in the first half came in the 24th minute when Elton Quintanilla played a nifty chip pass over the back line and Jonah Fitz came through on a full sprint for an open look from inside the box. He just yanked his shot wide left, but the Captains' connections continued to mount. 

In the second half, early runs included Fitz again, this time starting a play through the middle of the field before a pass ahead to Quintanilla was just a step too heavy as the Marlins keeper again slid out for the stop. 

Finally, in the 53rd minute, the Captains would break through, opening up the flood gates for the offense the rest of the way. Quintanilla was again in the middle of the action and wound up assisting on the eventual gamewinner after winning a challenge on the goal line against his defender following a beautiful long pass by Liss. The junior forward had space and sent his cross flying by the keeper to find Liss making the run down the left all alone on the back post for a one-timer into the back of the net. 

The first career goal for the New Jersey native held up as the game-winning strike while Quintanilla snagged his third assist on the season. The tally also came in Liss' first career start. 

Exactly ten minutes of game action later, the lead would double on a rifle off the foot of senior forward Ryan Machado-Jones. Chris Schram sent a great ball out of the defense around midfield toward the goal line on the left side where Machado-Jones worked through contact before unleashing a laser off the far post and into the netting. The score was the first of Machado-Jones CNU career. 

Over the next several minutes, Jason LaViola took control for the Captains, having one goal called back due to being a step offsides, and another stopped by a sensational save from point blank range before the sophomore finally cashed in during the 75th minute. Mason Field battled through a challenge and with a spinning turn, and managed to get a touch pass to LaViola, open a few yards to his left; LaViola would not be denied a third time, smashing home a left-footed rip from about 25 yards out into the right side of the goal. 

With the lead built to three, the Captains were relentless on attack, putting another three shots on frame in the final 15 minutes, forcing Griffin Potter to make two more saves as freshmen Barry Jones and Zach Ruhlman took shots on frame that were stopped by the Wesleyan keeper. In the 84th minute, though, it was the Captains beating Potter again for the fourth goal of the night. Taking a corner kick from the left side, Carson Grove found the head of Owen Burnett on the back post for the final tally of the night. 

Both sides of the ball played well, running away with a 4-0 shutout to improve to 8-2-0 on the season. Ethan Larson made several solid plays away from the goal to eliminate Marlin chances and the fifth-year keeper secured his fourth shutout of the season. 

Christopher Newport will take on ninth-ranked Washington and Lee in their next outing, hosting the Generals at Captains Field on Saturday, October 8 for Senior Night. Kickoff is scheduled for 6:00 pm.