LYNCHBURG, Va. -- The season came to a disappointing end on Sunday afternoon for the nationally-ranked Christopher Newport men's soccer team when the Captains (13-3-5) suffered a hard-fought loss to 13th-ranked Lynchburg (19-1-2) at Shellenberger Field in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

CNU scored first, becoming just the eighth team to penetrate the Lynchburg defense, but after a first-half equalizer, the Hornets benefited from a foul called in the box in the 60th minute providing the game-winning penalty kick chance. Benjamin Velasquez converted the try from the spot to take a 2-1 lead, which wound up the final score. 

Lynchburg advances to the Sectional Round of the 2025 NCAA Division III Men's Soccer Championship with the victory. 

The Captains raced out to an early lead, scoring in the 19th minute of action on a corner kick taken by junior midfielder Colin Skwirut. The ball was placed perfectly in the box where Drew McWhinney and Declan Karney both elevated to try and get a head on the ball. Another Captain wound up on the ground after contact, and the mayhem created an opening for the cross to find the back of the net off the head of a Lynchburg defender for an own goal. 

The score, set up by the excellent pass from Skwirut, was just the 11th goal allowed by the tough Lynchburg defense this season. CNU was just the eighth team in 22 games this season to find the back of the net against the Hornets and just the third opponent to score on Lynchburg at home.

 The lead would hold for just over 15 minutes before Keaton Napior scored on a header after a long throw in the 34th minute. 

In the second half, much of the action was held in the center third of the field as the midfielders battled for possession. The hosts earned a corner kick in the 52nd minute but it was cleared away by the Captains' defense. Another free kick came in moments later but CNU turned it into a counter attack but a pass attempting to find Luke Peri trickled out of bounds just long of the connection. 

Physical play continued on both sides and after a caution, the Captains earned their first corner kick of the second half. Michael Hackworth, the hero from the first round overtime win against Berry, sent a long cross over the box as the wind swirled at Shellenberger Field.

In the 60th minute, Carlo Andres Romero worked his way around a CNU defender to get into the box and on the goal line, went sprawling to the turf to earn a whistle and the ensuing penalty kick. 

After the home team converted, the Captains would ramp up the pressure looking for the equalizer. After a free kick taken by Josh Monzon, sophomore defender Carson Friedlein ripped a hard shot that needed to be saved by the Lynchburg keeper. Moments later, a breakaway opportunity was ended when Joe Summerfield was tripped up by the last Lynchburg defender after a pass by Drew McWhinney. The key moment resulted in a free kick shot by Monzon that was saved by Lynchburg. 

A last-ditch effort came in the final two minutes as the Captains tried to press everything into the box. With a bounding ball away from the box, Hackworth went down in the box but there was no foul whistled. Then, on a free kick with just over one minute remaining, Caleb Jones lofted a pass into the box but Lynchburg eliminated the chance. 

Christopher Newport closed the season with the most wins in a year since 2019 and advanced into the NCAA Tournament second round for the seventh straight postseason appearance.