NEWPORT NEWS, Va. -- Heading into the season ranked in the preseason Top 25, the Christopher Newport men's soccer team will open a run of six straight home games with a pair this weekend at Captains Field. CNU will start the season on Friday night, taking on Berry College at 5:00 p.m. and will cap the season-opening weekend with a matchup against the University of Lynchburg at 8:00 p.m. on Saturday night. 

Live stats and a live video webcast will be available for all the action in Newport News with links found on CNUsports.com. 

The Captains are coming off a third consecutive postseason appearance under head coach Justin Chezem and will start their quest toward a fourth with the first-ever matchup against the Vikings of Berry College. Last season, Berry reached the SAA Conference Championship before ending the season with a 9-2-6 overall record. CNU will then take on a more familiar foe in the Hornets, facing off in the 25th all-time matchup against Lynchburg. It will be just the second matchup between the two programs in Newport News since 2015, where the Captains own a 5-2-5 all-time advantage in the matchup. 

On Friday, Captains Field will also feature a neutral site bout between Lynchburg and the Hardin-Simmons Cowboys with kickoff slated for 3:00 p.m. 

Boasting a top-25 billing, the Captains return an impressive group of starters from the squad that reached the NCAA Second Round a year ago. All-Region midfielder Kyle Stenzel headlines the veterans after serving in both the defensive back and midfield units last season. Several key defenders also return including fifth-year Jacob Dudle and veterans Jonathon Leiding and Jonah Fitz. 

Offensively, the Captains return leading scorer Elton Quintanilla after earning All-Conference honors a season ago. Speedy scorer Matt Liss adds a year of experience under his belt while the Captains also return veteran midfielder Colin McMunn on the outside. 

Berry was picked second in the preseason SAA poll by just a single point as Rhodes edged out the Vikings as the conference preseason favorites. Starting a three-game road trip to open the 2023 season, Berry is coming off a season in which they recorded six draws. 

Lynchburg was also picked second in their respective preseason poll, collecting one first-place vote behind the ODAC favorites from Washington and Lee. Two-time All-American Luke Mega returns to the squad for his fifth year after a dominant campaign offensively in 2022. 

Rounding out the weekend field, Hardin-Simmons comes into action on Friday picked fourth in the ASC preseason poll. Senior Jakob Fiol was named the ASC Preseason Offensive Player of the Year after earning first team All-League honors after leading the conference in goals and points in 2022. 

Following the pair this weekend, the Captains will wait a week before getting back to it at home next weekend against Marymount (Sep 9) and Randolph (Sep 10).