NEWPORT NEWS, Va. -- Six different goal scorers contributed to a 6-1 win on Senior Day at Captains Field on Saturday afternoon as the 20th-ranked Christopher Newport men's soccer team captured a win over Coast-To-Coast Athletic Conference foe Regent University (3-8-0). Playing on a blustery day at home for the first time in a month, the Captains improved to 8-1-4 on the season with an unbeaten record at home (5-0-2). 

The six-goal outburst is the most by a CNU squad since September 2, 2018 when the Captains scored six in back-to-back games to start the 2018 season. The last time the Captains found the back of the net more was in an 11-0 win against Southern Virginia on October 4, 2017. 

On Saturday, the Captains flexed the tremendous amount of depth on the team with 30 players seeing action with all but one playing at least 13 minutes in the game. The well-rounded performance allowed for three senior goalkeepers to get in the game with Hayden Dewey starting, Aidan O'Mahony making one save and earning the win, and Henry McClellan making three saves to preserve the victory. 

On the offensive end, CNU scored in bunches with two in the first half and four more after the halftime break. Kicking off the scoring was sophomore Ryan Buckon with a chip over the keeper on a rebound of the first attempt by Tim McGuire. On the right side, Nick Dunkley broke down his defender and got by him before passing back into the middle of the box. A deflection reached McGuire who unleashed a close-range attack on the Regent goalkeeper, but his shot was saved. The rebound found Buckon, who tactfully chipped the ball into the goal for the score. 

The eventual game-winning goal would come less than six minutes later when the Captains scored on a corner kick in the 36th minute. Taking a 2-0 advantage, junior Colin Skwirut stepped up and delivered a beautiful cross into the box where sophomore Carson Friedlein battled through contact to elevate and power home a header for the score. He tied for the team lead in goals scored with his third of the season and is now the team's leading scorer. 

CNU outshot the Royals, 13-3, in the first half, and also recorded six corner kicks to none by Regent. 

In the second half, the Captains wasted no time adding another tally to the lead when senior Barry Jones celebrated his Senior Day with a goal less than a minute into the period. Joe Summerfield slotted a perfect through ball between two defenders and Jones got to the roller first. He touched back inside and then again to his right before sneaking a low bouncer under the goalkeeper into the left side. 

Regent temporarily slowed the CNU momentum when they answered right back with a header off a corner kick in the 49th minute to cut the lead back to two, 3-1, but the Captains were back in control quickly again. In the 65th minute, a pristine connection near the sideline led to a breakaway goal by rookie Bilal Hawa. Ethan Arnolds started the play up the left side when he played a pass to Evan Rupe, who rotated his hips and played a one-touch pass up the left side for Hawa. Sprinting by a defender, Hawa was able to drive into the box and uncorked a blazing shot into the right side of the goal. 

The final flourish came with two goals scored in the 73rd minute, just 45 seconds apart. First, Caleb Lewis found Shaurya Thakur for his first career goal in the middle of the box. Then, Lewis scored himself on a feed by Hayden Flory. The pass from Flory allowed Lewis to spin on his defender and blaze a shot on target from the middle of the box. 

CNU finished the game with a 23-11 advantage in total shots including a 16-5 edge in shots on-goal. 

Christopher Newport is off for a week before returning to action on Homecoming Weekend. The Captains will take on Salisbury University at 7:00 p.m. at home next weekend with the game being played on Saturday, October 18.