KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Following a tremendous performance in the 2021 season, the Christopher Newport men's soccer team will open up the 2022 campaign ranked No. 11 in the nation according to the United Soccer Coaches Preseason National Rankings.

The designation is the highest preseason ranking for the Captains since 2015 when they started the year ranked No. 8. Additionally, it's the first time since 2011-12 that Christopher Newport has earned a spot in the preseason top-25 in back-to-back years. 

The Captains finished the 2021 season with a 12-5-2 overall record while facing the toughest schedule in the nation. CNU went on to win the 2021 Coast-To-Coast Athletic Conference Championship and advanced to the second weekend of NCAA Tournament action before finishing the year in the Round of 16. The season included a run that saw CNU win nine of ten games late in the year, including two games on the road in the NCAA Tournament. 

Christopher Newport suffered the loss of Conference Defensive Player of the Year and Scholar All-American Davis Pillow alongside three more All-Conference starters, but will welcome back three All-League performers to the roster this season. Seniors Owen Burnett and Chris Schram were top offensive players for CNU a year ago while junior goalkeeper Gabe Barros also hauled in All-Conference honors a year ago. Schram started all 19 games and ranked third on the team with nine points while Burnett was an impact forward off the bench and finished the year with eight points. Barros took over the starting goalkeeper position halfway through the year and finished the season with a 1.10 goals-against average and a 7-2-0 record including a huge win over nationally-ranked Johns Hopkins in his debut. 

The Captains will also welcome back fifth-year forward Lincoln Kickbush after missing a year to injury a year ago. In 2019, Kickbush was the team's leading scorer and an All-Conference pick as CNU returned to the postseason for the first time in three years. Veteran defenders Jacob Dudley and Jonathon Leiding return for the talented backline after posting a 1.07 goals-against average a year ago. 

The 2022 schedule has been posted online and will be officially released later this week. The season opener is scheduled against Eastern University on Friday, September 2 at 5:00 p.m.
 

UNITED SOCCER COACHES TOP 25 DIVISION III
NATIONAL - PRE-SEASON POLL - AUGUST 2, 2022

 

Rank	School	Prev	W-L-T
1	Connecticut College	1	19-4-2
2	Amherst College	2	17-3-2
3	Washington & Lee University	3	18-2-2
4	University Of Chicago	4	16-6-1
5	Messiah University	5	19-2-2
6	Tufts University	6	15-2-4
7	North Park University	7	16-6-0
8	Middlebury College	8	13-5-3
9	Calvin University	9	17-4-2
10	SUNY Cortland	10	18-3-1
11	Christopher Newport University	11	12-5-2
12	University of Redlands	12	17-3-1
13	Trinity University (Texas)	13	14-2-2
14	Washington College (Md.)	14	15-5-1
15	St. Olaf College	15	19-3-1
16	John Carroll University	16	14-4-2
17	Kenyon College	17	16-3-1
18	Hanover College	18	16-5-1
19	Franklin & Marshall College	19	15-4-1
20	Washington University (Mo.)	20	13-3-1
21	Ohio Wesleyan University	21	15-3-2
22	Emory University	22	9-4-5
23	Montclair State University	23	17-4-1
24	Otterbein University	24	15-2-4
25	Stevens Institute Of Technology	25	13-6-3

Records shown are final 2021 records.

Also receiving votes: New York University, Johns Hopkins University, Rowan University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Claremont-McKenna-Harvey Mudd-Scripps Colleges, Kean University, Pacific Lutheran University, Gustavus Adolphus College, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute