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SANTA CRUZ, Calif. -- After earning a first-round bye as the #2 seed in the 2023 Coast-To-Coast Athletic Conference Tournament, the Captains of Christopher Newport will open its quest for the conference crown on Friday against #3 seed Wisconsin-Platteville at 5:00 pm (ET). The Captains (10-3-2) are set to kickoff in Santa Cruz, California in the semifinal round with a berth in Sunday's C2C Championship on the line. 

CNU and Platteville will be playing for the first time in program history as the Pioneers earned a spot in the semifinal round after a 4-3 penalty kick shootout win against Salisbury on Thursday following a scoreless draw. It will be the second straight C2C Semifinal against a program based in Wisconsin for the Captains after CNU captured a 4-2 overtime win against UW-Whitewater last season. 

For fans unable to make the trip to California, live stats and a live video webcast will be available online with links found at the top of this page or on the men's soccer schedule at CNUsports.com. The game will be played at 2:00 p.m. locally, 5:00 pm on the East Coast. 

Christopher Newport saw a three-year streak as the top seed in the tournament snapped this year, but will enter postseason play as a top two seed for the sixth time in the last seven seasons. 

This year, the Captains feature a balanced offense that is averaging just under two goals per game this season. Senior midfielder Mason Field leads the way with eight goals while rookie Drew McWhinney has added 14 points in his first season. Both earned All-C2C plaudits earlier this week, alongside sophomore midfielder Barry Jones, who leads the team in assists. 

Defensively, first team All-Conference pick Kyle Stenzel has led the back line that has allowed just 14 goals this season for a 0.93 goals-against average. On the outside, veterans Jacob Dudley and Jonathon Leiding, a second team All-C2C pick, have played the most minutes while Jonah Fitz, Yazan Yaghmmour, and Chris Garbarini have all pitched in to the strong defensive unit. 

Wisconsin-Platteville is receiving votes in the United Soccer Coaches Top 25 poll and is 12-1-5 overall this season. The Pioneers feature the C2C Defensive Player of the Year in Konrad Ziaja and the C2C Rookie of the Year in Justin Williams. Ziaja anchors a defense that has surrendered just 11 goals this season while also adding a team-leading six goals. Williams has 12 points in 18 games played. 

The advancing team will play either #1 Mary Washington or #5 UC Santa Cruz, who play in the first semifinal matchup at 11:00 am locally, 2:00 pm (ET) on Friday.