NEWPORT NEWS, Va. -- Playing in front of a hearty postseason crowd at Captains Field, the top-seeded and 22nd-ranked Christopher Newport men's soccer team shut out the #4-seed UC Santa Cruz (10-7-1) in the semifinal round of the 2025 Coast-To-Coast Athletic Conference Championship Tournament and advanced to the title game on Sunday. The Captains improved to 11-2-5 overall with a 2-0 blanking of the Banana Slugs and were led by senior midfielder Caleb Jones with an assist and a goal in the game. 

Jones picked up an assist on the eventual game-winning goal on a corner kick in the 11th minute of action and would add a tally of his own in the second half for insurance. Sophomore defender Carson Friedlein slammed home the winner and Drew McWhinney also added an assist for CNU. 

Christopher Newport advanced to the C2C Championship Match for the fifth time in the last six years and second straight season. The Captains will face #3-seed Salisbury University (9-5-5) at Noon on Sunday afternoon -- kickoff time adjusted by mutual agreement of head coaches -- after the Sea Gulls ended an eight-year streak of championship game appearances by Mary Washington with a 2-0 win in the other semifinal. 

Taking on the upset-minded Banana Slugs, the Captains slanted the momentum heavily in their own favor with an early goal in the semifinal matchup. Earning a corner kick, the Captains turned to Jones for the cross and the senior from Virginia Beach placed a perfect pass into the center of the box where the 6-3 forward outleaped his defender to get a head on the ball. His re-direction found Friedlein alone in the center of the six and without hesitation, the sophomore defender blasted home the shot into the back of the netting. 

Friedlein notched his fourth goal of the season and third game-winning strike. McWhinney earned his first assist of his junior campaign while Jones added his third. 

The Captains continued to collect corner kicks throughout the first 20 minutes with six set piece attempts from the corner. With the lead, the Captains weathered a shift in offensive intensity as Santa Cruz took 12 first-half shots. All 12 were off target though, and senior goalkeeper Hayden Dewey was unchallenged until the second half. 

Picking up the team's second goal on a restart, the Captains doubled the lead in the 63rd minute. Playing a free kick after a foul from just inside the left sideline, Jones addressed the ball and set up his offense for a potential service. With a big blow toward the back post, the ball bounced in the box and sophomore defender Declan Karney appeared to have a chance at a volley for the score; the ball skipped by, however, and froze the goalkeeper as the long shot found the right side of the goal. It was Jones' third goal of the season and the senior now has nine points ont he year. 

While Dewey was relatively untested in the first half, he needed to make four saves in the second half to secure the shutout. The Banana Slugs pressured him four times in the final 20 minutes as they attempted to get back into the match. The All-Conference netminder locked up his ninth shutout of the season and lowered his goals-against average to 0.71 for the season. 

Christopher Newport finished the game with 12 total shots including five on frame. Barry Jones, Asher Kuzemka, and Manzi Siibo all played shots on target for the Captains. Siibo's header in the 73rd minute was inches away from making the score 3-0 before a UC Santa Cruz defender cleared the shot off the line. 

Christopher Newport will play for its seventh conference championship on Sunday afternoon at Noon. It will be the first time the two teams have ever competed for a league title and the fourth ever matchup in the conference tournament. CNU is 2-0-1 all-time against Salisbury with a pair of semifinal victories and most recently a quarterfinal draw in the 2018 postseason -- in that game, the Sea Gulls advanced on penalty kicks. 

Live stats and a live video webcast will be available at Noon on Sunday. Admission to the title matchup is free of charge. The winning team will secure the league's automatic berth into the NCAA Men's Soccer Championship, set to begin next weekend.