MONTCLAIR, N.J. -- The quest for a national championship will begin in earnest on Saturday night as the Christopher Newport men's soccer team opens the NCAA Division III Men's Soccer Championship with a first-round matchup against Manhattanville (9-3-6) at 7:30 p.m. The Captains (10-4-2) will face the Skyline Conference champions in a neutral site first-round bout at fifth-ranked Montclair State University, serving as host for the weekend's action. 

Christopher Newport is making the team's fourth straight NCAA Tournament appearance and 14th all-time in program history. The Captains have advanced to the second round in five straight postseason showings and have won at least one game in the postseason in ten of the previous 13 NCAA appearances. To reach the second round this season, Christopher Newport will have to go through a program they have never faced in the Valiants. 

The advancing team will play on Sunday at 7:00 p.m. against the winner of the other first round matchup being played at MSU Soccer Park. The host Red Hawks (17-2-1) will take on Elmira College (7-6-5) in the first game on Saturday at 5:00 p.m.

Ticket prices are set at $10 for adults and $5 for students, faculty/staff, senior citizens, and children over 10. Any children under 10 are admitted free. For more information about gameday at the NCAA Tournament, click here. 

The Captains reached the Coast-To-Coast Athletic Conference semifinals before being eliminated and earned an at-large berth into the 2023 NCAA Tournament. Facing the nation's most challenging schedule with an opponents winning percentage of .680, paired with an impressive overall winning percentage of .688, the Captains did enough to earn a trip to the postseason event. 

This season, the offense has been led by senior Mason Field with eight goals in 13 games played. Rookie Drew McWhinney is not far behind, adding 14 points on six goals and two assists during his first year, while sophomore Barry Jones leads the team in assists with seven and ranks third on the team in scoring with nine points. 

Defensively, sophomore goalkeeper Hayden Dewey is the only Captain to start all 16 games this season and he boasts a 1.07 goals-against average while facing 128 total shots. He has made 52 saves and won ten games for the Captains in his first year as the starter. In front of him, veterans Kyle Stenzel, Jacob Dudley, Jonah Fitz, and Jonathon Leiding have done the bulk of the work on the back line with newcomer Yazan Yaghmmour and sophomore Asher Kuzemka playing big roles as well. 

Manhattanville comes into the game featuring four All-Conference players including fifth-year defender Trevor Henderson, a first-team selection. In goal, three-time All-Conference selection Luis Granados leads the way for the Valiants with a .790 save percentage and 1.13 goals-against average. Matt Rabadi and Manuel Morales have scored in double figures this season to lead the offense, including a team-high six goals by Morales.