NEWPORT NEWS, Va. -- With a rocket off the foot of Manzi Siibo in the 39th minute, the Christopher Newport men's soccer team triggered a three-goal outburst in a season-opening win over Rosemont College (0-1-0). The Captains won 3-0 on Friday night in the 5th Annual Steve Shaw Classic as they added second-half goals from veterans Carson Grove and Luke Peri to pull away in the shutout victory.

CNU is now 8-0-1 since the tournament was created in 2019 to honor the legacy of long-time head coach Steve Shaw, who recorded over 300 wins in his tenure at CNU. Head coach Justin Chezem opened his fifth season with his 51st career win as the Captains won their 11th straight home opener and are now 17-0-1 to start the season at Captains Field since 2006. 

The eventual gamewinner came as the Captains slowly built momentum in the first half with seven shots and seven corner kicks. On a restart in their own half of the field, sophomore Colin Skwirut took the opportunity to restart quickly, catching the Ravens on their heels with a beautiful ball up field to Barry Jones. Jones settled with one touch and centered the ball to a streaking Siibo, who redirected to his right foot, wound up and unleashed a howitzer into the right side of the netting. 

The sophomore forward caused fits for the Rosemont defense after entering the game in the 27th minute, creating opportunities for CNU through the middle of the pitch. He cashed in on the first game-winning goal of the season as Christopher Newport would hold onto the clean sheet through the rest of the game. 

The biggest challenge from the Ravens came early when Justin Thomas got loose in the box down the left side. Forced into a tough angle near the goal line, Thomas managed a strong shot toward the goalmouth, but CNU keeper Hayden Dewey stoned the shot for the lone save of the match required by the Captains. 

After carrying a 1-0 lead into the half, the Captains would score twice more in the second to pull away for the win. The second goal also came on a restart as Carson Grove stepped up for a free kick on the left side a few yards back of the corner of the box. He smashed a right-footed bender around the wall and off the thigh of a potential defender before the ball slammed into the right side of the netting. The senior scored his second career goal with the unassisted finish in the 70th minute. 

Finally, two more veterans combined for the last goal of the match just 39 seconds later. Senior midfielder Jason LaViola received a pass in the left corner before dicing up a defender to get free for a cross. His low pass skipped across the goal mouth where junior Luke Peri came sliding through to put away the finish on the back post. 

Rosemont picked up the pace in the final 15 minutes, trying to get on the board against the stingy CNU defense, but could not get another attempt on frame despite two corner kicks and four total shots. Led by Asher Kuzemka and Declan Karney, the back line put together a stout effort in front of Dewey and Aidan O'Mahony, who combined for the shutout. Yazan Yaghmmour also anchored the back as a bevy of newcomers contributed in Josh Monzon, Ben Sullivan, Jack Otto, and Carson Friedlein. Juniors Zach Ruhlman and A.J. Goller also helped close out the clean sheet for CNU on defense. 

Christopher Newport will have a quick turnaround for game two as they are set to host Stockton University (0-1-0) on Saturday evening at 5:00 pm to close out the Steve Shaw Classic. The Ospreys opened on Friday night against Virginia Wesleyan, falling to the Marlins by a final score of 1-0.