NEWPORT NEWS, Va. -- Closing out a six-game homestand to start the year, the Christopher Newport men's soccer team will host a pair of 1:00 p.m. matchups at Captains Field this weekend. First, on Saturday, CNU will welcome in Rutgers-Camden before welcoming in Hampden-Sydney on Sunday afternoon.
Heading into the third weekend of the season, Christopher Newport has posted a 2-0-2 overall record while the Captains will face a Rutgers-Camden squad that is 3-0-1 and a Hampden-Sydney team sitting at 3-0-0. Both teams will also play at Virginia Wesleyan this weekend as H-SC will start against the Marlins on Saturday before making the trip to Newport News.
Live stats and a live video webcast will be available of both games at CNUsports.com. Direct links can be found on the men's soccer schedule.
Christopher Newport is coming off an impressive weekend that featured 2-1 wins over the University of Redlands and William Paterson University. With a 2-0-2 record at home so far, the Captains boast a dominant home field advantage with 36 wins and 14 draws in the first 54 games at Captains Field under the direction of head coach
Justin Chezem. CNU has a 79.6 percent winning percentage (36-4-14) at home since Chezem took the reins.
This season, sophomore defender
Carson Friedlein has helped pace the Captains both offensively and defensively. He has a goal and an assist for a team-high three points while also helping CNU hold opponents to 0.75 goals per game. On the back line, veteran
Yazan Yaghmmour has paired with Friedlein and a couple of sophomores,
Josh Monzon and
Declan Karney.
Offensively,
Drew McWhinney and
Barry Jones have also scored so far for the Captains, while senior
Asher Kuzemka netted the game-winning strike against Redlands in the second half. Rookie
Tim McGuire has also found the back of the net once for CNU through the first four games.
CNU will be facing Rutgers-Camden for the sixth time in the all-time series. The Captains own a 4-0-1 record against the Scarlet Raptors, including a 2-0 win at home last season. It will be the fourth ever matchup at Captains Field with CNU winning the previous three by 2-0 final scores.
On Sunday, the Captains take on Hampden-Sydney for the 20th time but just the second since 2006. CNU is 12-5-2 all-time against the Tigers and is riding a four-game winning streak. At home, the Captains are 5-3-1 against H-SC.
Rutgers-Camden is coming off a 1-0 win against Arcadia after putting up ten goals in two wins against St. John Fisher and Penn State Abington. Joseph Lodise leads the offense with three goals and an assist while Nik Grello has added two goals and two assists. In goal, Aleksander Nycz has handled the bulk of the work between the pipes and boasts a 0.26 goals-against average through 346 minutes play.
Hampden-Sydney secured a marquee win over nationally-ranked Mary Washington on Wednesday night, winning 3-0 against the Eagles. The Tigers have scored three or more goals in each of their first three games while outscoring opponents 12-1. Seven different H-SC players have found the back of the net while being led by Pierce Boerner with three goals and two assists for eight points.
Following the weekend's action, the Captains will hit the road for the first time in 2025 with a trip to Texas next weekend. CNU will take on Trinity (Texas) and Hardin-Simmons in Abilene to kickstart six straight games away from home.
