Complete Bracket
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. -- After capturing a 1-0 victory in the Coast-To-Coast Athletic Conference Championship, the Christopher Newport men's soccer team earned an automatic qualifying berth into the NCAA Division III Men's Soccer Championship. On Monday, the committee announced the 2025 bracket and the Captains (12-2-5) are headed to the University of Lynchburg to face Berry College (11-5-5) on Saturday, November 16 in the first round.
Led by head coach
Justin Chezem in his sixth season, the Captains are returning to the postseason tournament for the fifth time since 2019. It marks the 15th all-time NCAA Tournament appearance for Christopher Newport and the seventh by virtue of the automatic berth. CNU is 16-11-5 all-time in the NCAA Tournament.
Christopher Newport will play in the second game on Saturday, kicking off at Shellenberger Field on the campus of Lynchburg in the neutral site bout. Ticket information, game coverage, and more information will be announced at CNUsports.com as it is made available in the coming days.
Along with CNU's opening round opponent, the two other teams in the first-round pod are Transylvania (14-2-3) and the host Hornets (17-1-2). The two advancing teams will then face off in the NCAA Second Round on Sunday.
The Captains earned the team's trip to the postseason with a 1-0 win against Salisbury University in the Coast-To-Coast Athletic Conference final on Sunday. Senior
Caleb Jones delivered a dazzling dart to win the game in the final 15 minutes and lifted CNU to the seventh conference championship in program history. He took over the scoring lead this season with 11 points on four goals and three assists while
Joe Summerfield (4g, 2a) and
Carson Friedlein (4g, 2a) have each chipped in 10 points. Defensively, CNU has surrendered just 13 goals in 19 games for a 0.68 goals-against average, ranking 26th in Division III.
Berry captured the SAA Conference Championship with a 2-1 win against Southwestern. This season, the Vikings have been led by Jack Raulston with 12 goals while Max Albertson has 19 points (8g, 3a) and Timothy Ratokhin has added 10 points (3g, 4a). Tough defensively as well, Berry has allowed just 18 goals in 21 games with Cooper Cheery boasting a 0.90 goals-against average in goal.
