COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. -- Matching the record for the most goals scored in a game during the Chezem era, the Christopher Newport men's soccer team notched four second-half tallies to pull away from UC Santa Cruz (2-4-1) on Friday afternoon for a 5-0 victory. The Captains improved to 5-0-1 overall behind Drew McWhinney's first half winner and the offensive outburst after intermission. 

The five goals scored ties a 5-0 win over Pfeiffer last year for the most in four seasons under head coach Justin Chezem. It is also the most scored for the Captains since back-to-back six-goal performances to open the 2018 season -- a stretch spanning 80 games. 

McWhinney's second career gamewinner came in the 19th minute as the opportunistic Captains' offense took advantage of a corner kick to take a 1-0 lead early. Barry Jones took the free kick from the corner and found the head of Kyle Stenzel on the back post. The fifth-year senior defender directed his header to the middle of the goal mouth where McWhinney whipped a hard second header into the goal off of the Banana Slugs last defender. 

The goal stymied an upstart Santa Cruz squad that pressured sophomore goalkeeper Hayden Dewey early in the game with three shots on-goal. Dewey turned away all three before handing off the reins to Dom Stumpo for the final 15-and-a-half minutes of game action. The duo combined for the shutout, marking the second of the season for Christopher Newport. 

With a 1-0 lead, the Captains offense ramped up the pressure in the second half putting seven of their 14 shots on target to make things difficult for the Santa Cruz goalkeeper. The goals came in a flurry in the final twenty minutes as Colin McMunn scored one and assisted on another, Elton Quintanilla finished on a pair, and rookie Alex Stell recorded his first career goal in the 85th minute. 

McMunn kicked things off in the 73rd minute off another corner kick. This time, it was rookie Mike Hackworth that stepped to the corner but instead of crossing into the box, he played a short pass to McMunn on the right side. After taking a touch inside, the Banana Slugs defender challenged, but just a fraction too late as the Captains' midfielder powered a shot off his counterpart's foot that wobbled high through the air before tucking into the upper 90 on the far post. It was McMunn's first goal of the season and Hackworth's second career point with the assist. 

Less than two minutes later, Quintanilla scored the first of his two goals in the game off an assist by McMunn. The senior forward, who has been battling back from an injury in the preseason, took advantage of a rebound to get on the board for the first time in 2023 after leading the Captains in scoring last season. The play began with Dewey in the back, blistering a long ball up the middle of the field for Quintanilla, who flicked a picture-perfect pass ahead of the defense for the sprinting McMunn. With no one to beat but the keeper, McMunn ripped a hard shot that was saved, but not corralled, and Quintanilla raced into the box to finish for the score. 

Quintanilla would add his second goal of the game in the 82nd minute off a misplay by the Banana Slugs defense. After the goalkeeper tried to play it short to a defender, the ball was played through the middle of the pitch but a heavy touch by the Santa Cruz player left the ball abandoned right at the foot of Quintanilla. He dribbled twice toward the goal and smashed a right-footed burner off the turf that slipped under the diving goalkeeper into the right side of the goal. 

With momentum fully pointed in favor of the Captains, a final goal would come with just over five minutes remaining off a beautiful combination play in the middle of the field. Caleb Jones started the play by finding Manzi Siibo for a one-touch pass ahead to Stell. The rookie made sure the pretty play would pay off by hammering home his first career goal to cap the CNU scoring in the game. 

Overall, the Captains outshot the Banana Slugs by a final count of 24-6 including a 9-3 edge in shots on-goal. CNU had nine corner kicks to just three by UC Santa Cruz. 

This marks the first time the Captains have been unbeaten through the first six games since starting the 2016 season with a 6-0-0 record. CNU will next play the host Tigers of Colorado College on Saturday morning with an 11:00 a.m. local kickoff, 1:00 p.m. Eastern. Live stats and video are available at CNUsports.com.