NEWPORT NEWS, Va. -- In the latest installment of a rivalry that dates back to the 1974 season, the nationally-ranked Christopher Newport men's soccer team outlasted the North Carolina Wesleyan Battling Bishops (2-2-2) at Captains Field on Saturday night, 1-0. The 51st game in the series went the way of CNU behind a late second-half tally by freshman Drew McWhinney off a restart taken by senior Sam Dickinson. 

The 14th-ranked Captains improved to 4-0-0 on the season with the win, marking the best start of the Justin Chezem era and the first season with four wins in the first four games since 2016. Chezem has been the head coach since the start of the 2019 season and the Captains have been particularly dominant in home games, improving to 26-2-6 in that stretch. 

The offense narrowly missed a big day on the scoreboard on several occasions before settling for the one-goal performance. CNU took 19 total shots and put six attempts on frame including three in the first half.

A pair of veteran Captains returned to the starting lineup after injuries had kept them off the field so far this season in forward Elton Quintanilla and defender Jonah Fitz. Both made their presence felt early in the contest and added a spark to the Captains' lineup. Early in the first half, Quintanilla got in front of his defender and powered a header inside the box just high of the crossbar for his first attempt of the season. The near-miss proved to be a theme on the night for the Captains, who were denied by narrow margins throughout the contest. 

The next came off the foot of Caleb Jones, who smashed a shot from just outside the box that forced the Bishops keeper to make a diving save. Quintanilla played the ball back to Jones whose right-footed rocket ricocheted off the right post and the Captains were left scoreless again. 

Fitz also made an impact in the early stages, helping build offensive opportunities throughout his time in the first half. At one point, he had a long run starting at midfield on the sideline before blitzing back toward the center of the pitch. He then slipped a pass through a pair of defenders for the CNU attack that was eventually swallowed up by the Bishops defense. Then, in the 26th minute, Fitz again made a nice play on the offensive end, keeping the ball alive with a last-second touch pass to the middle of the field. Senior midfielder Mason Field collected the pass and added another rocket off the post.

Fitz played on the back line with Kyle Stenzel, Ryan Kiely, and Jacob Dudley, but injuries would also impact the stout defensive unit as he and Kiely both were forced to leave the game in the first half. Newcomers Ben Stefanon and Yazan Yaghmmour played the entire second half with Stenzel and Dudley to help lock down the first shutout of the season. Hayden Dewey made three saves in the contest to secure his first career shutout while improving to 4-0-0 on the season. 

In the second half, the Captains chances continued, but North Carolina Wesleyan also pressured the CNU defense with five shots and two on target. The first came less than a minute into the stanza, but Dewey turned away the chance. Yaghmmour nearly finished on a header in the box from point blank range, but excellent reflexes allowed the Bishops keeper to turn away another opportunity. 

Finally, in the 80th minute, the Captains broke through with the go-ahead score. After a foul was whistled on the Bishops right in front of the CNU bench, senior midfielder Sam Dickinson stepped up to take the set piece pass. With a two-man wall in front of him, Dickinson bent a one-bouncer into the box and rookie Drew McWhinney reached out and poked a hard shot toward the left side. Again the ball slammed into the post, but this time, got the home-field roll, spinning back into the goal for the eventual game-winning strike. It was his second goal in as many games and Dickinson collected his first assist of the year. 

The Captains will look to make it five in a row on Sunday evening as CNU welcomes William Peace University to the home field to wrap up a six-game homestand to start the year. Kickoff is set for 6:00 pm on Sunday with live stats and a live video webcast scheduled at CNUsports.com.