NEWPORT NEWS, Va. -- Taking on one of the most dangerous offenses in the nation, the 24th-ranked Christopher Newport men's soccer team held the 9th-ranked Washington and Lee Generals off the scoreboard for the first time this season and earned a scoreless draw at home. After the 0-0 tie, the Captains record runs to 8-2-1 while Washington and Lee is now 8-1-3 on the year.

The Captains' defense was locked in against the talented Washington and Lee attack, and surrendered just a single shot on goal. W&L had not been shut out since the final game of the CoVID-19 shortened ODAC spring season of 2021, marking a span of 33 straight games with at least one goal. Including only Fall contests, it's the first shutout against in 42 games dating back to a 1-0 setback at Virginia Wesleyan in 2019.

The back line was organized and effective in the passing game, with Chris Schram, Ryan Kiely, Jonathon Leiding, and Jonah Fitz starting as the back four. The defensive midfielder, Trevor Smith, also played a magnificent game in keeping the Generals offense, which was averaging 3.0 goals per game coming into the night, off the board.

On the other end of the field, the Captains had more chances offensively on the night, but could not find pay dirt in the contest either, settling for the tie. Matt Liss and Elton Quintanilla led the attack with a pair of shots in the game, while Ryan Machado-Jones put one on frame as well.

The back-and-forth nationally-ranked battle started in favor of the Captains as CNU took the first big chance of the game in the 12th minute of play. Utilizing his speed, Liss sprinted toward an outside defender and leaped in front of a long pass by the defender. The ricochet caught Quintanilla beautifully, and Liss was racing by his defender on the give-and-go, but the pass back was just long.

Machado-Jones' aforementioned shot may have been the best chance of the night, coming with just over nine minutes remaining in the first half. After a foul was whistled about 22 yards away from the goal, the senior forward laced a line drive on target to the left, but the Generals goalkeeper made a fully-extended diving save to keep the Captains off the board.

In a spurt during the second half, the Washington and Lee attack looked to finally break through against the Captains' tough back line, taking advantage of a counter-attack after a corner kick. Schram was the lone man between the Generals forward and the goal for the length of the field, but the senior defender did an outstanding job marking long enough to allow his teammates to track back. A shot by Park Bruner was blasted but directly into the two CNU defenders back in the box. Minutes later, the Generals had back-to-back shots blocked by defenders again.

By the time the clock expired, there were 18 total shots taken with 10 by the visitors. CNU held a definitive edge in corner kicks, 6-1, and only three total shots were on goal in the game.

Christopher Newport will next travel to St. Mary's College (Md.) on Saturday, October 15 with first touch scheduled for 6:00 p.m. against the Seahawks.