NEWPORT NEWS, Va. -- Taking on the undefeated Tigers from Hampden-Sydney College (4-1-0), the Christopher Newport men's soccer team used an early highlight-reel goal from Caleb Jones and a pair of second-half strikes to earn a 3-1 win at Captains Field on Sunday afternoon. The Captains improved to 4-0-2 on the season after Manzi Siibo picked up the gamewinner in the second half and Riley Buckon scored his first career goal as a Captain for insurance late in the game. 

Before the fans could settle into their seats, the Captains had a quick 1-0 lead over Hampden-Sydney when Caleb Jones connected off a pass from Luke Peri. Just over five minutes into the game, a whistle provided the Captains with a free kick in the attacking third from the right side of the pitch. Junior midfielder Colin Skwirut delivered a nice ball into the box, but a defender cleared it away; the ball landed at Peri's feet and he re-inserted a pass to the back post. 

On the receiving end, senior Caleb Jones got free of his defender and was wide open on the back post. He read the feed perfectly and committed to a full diving header with no one but the goalkeeper to beat. Jones' powered home his first goal of the season with no fear on the same post that resulted in an injury earlier in his career. The assist for Peri was also the first of the season for the veteran forward. 

Despite the early advantage, the Captains were forced to weather a series of dangerous tries from the visitors as they looked to equalize. Defender Owen Edwards unleashed a pair of wicked line drives in the first 20 minutes including one that whistled just wide left and another that forced CNU senior goalkeeper Hayden Dewey to make a sprawling save to his left. Moments later, Charlie Letson put another shot on frame but Dewey smothered the chance. 

The Tigers would eventually sneak one by Dewey despite the strong first half for the veteran netminder when Hampden-Sydney scored the game-tying goal in the 44th minute off a corner kick. Zakky Johnston was left free on the back post and headed home the score off an assist by Pierce Boerner. 

Needing to re-establish the momentum in the second half, the Captains did so with early pressure offensively. In the 57th minute, Skwirut was again a catalyst to a CNU goal but this time he would pick up an assist. After a corner kick was cleared away, Jones played the ball back to the sideline just in front of the Hampden-Sydney bench. Skwirut took on his defender and then lined a left-footed pass to the top of the box for Siibo. The junior settled the well-paced pass and the first touch was into the box; the second was a sliding, sweeping shot from Siibo scoring the second goal for CNU. 

Now back with the lead, the Captains needed to lock down defensively and made several key plays in the second half to hold onto the lead. Miles Maggioncalda eliminated a threat with a stellar tackle in the middle of the pitch as the Tigers mounted an attack with numbers. Asher Kuzemka also cleared away in a key moment with a header in the box as Hampden-Sydney struggled to find the connecting pass. 

In the 69th minute, Christopher Newport gave itself some breathing room with a third goal to stretch the lead to two. After a hustle play by rookie Ethan Arnolds kept the ball alive on the far sideline, he collected the ball and turned back to the defense to reset. The ball wound up at the feet of Yazan Yaghmmour, who caught it in stride to breeze by a defender. He nearly lost his footing but scrambled to keep possession against three Tigers players before slipping a pass ahead to Arnolds. His shot was deflected high, but still in play, across the goal mouth to the other Captains winger, Riley Usher. Usher headed it across the middle, where Hampden-Sydney tried to clear it out with another header. 

Unfortunately for the visitors, the ball again landed at the feet of Yaghmmour, barreling through the middle of the field with a scorching shot low through the crowd in the box. The goalkeeper made a tremendous save to stop the first attempt, but Buckon was there to close out the rebound for the score. His first goal wearing a CNU uniform gave the Captains a key insurance goal with just over 20 minutes remaining. 

The rest of the way, the defense was led by Declan Karney, Josh Monzon, and Carson Friedlein as they held the potent Tigers attack off the board. It marked the first time this season that Hampden-Sydney was held to just a single goal. 

Christopher Newport closes out its six-game homestand to start the year with a 4-0-2 record and will now head away from Captains Field for the next six games. The road trip starts in Texas as CNU will travel to Hardin-Simmons University to face Trinity (Texas) on Friday, September 19 before take on the host Cowboys on Saturday, September 20.