ARLINGTON, Va. -- Adding to the longest winning streak since 2017, the tenth-ranked Christopher Newport men's soccer team battled a steady rain through the second half and outlasted the host Marymount University Saints (4-4-1) on Saturday night for a 1-0 victory. The Captains won the team's seventh straight game and improved to 7-0-2 after
Joe Summerfield converted the winner in the 73rd minute of play.
The Captains are now unbeaten in nine straight games, marking the longest streak of consecutive games without a loss in the head coaching career of
Justin Chezem. It's the longest streak for Christopher Newport since 2017 when the Captains pieced together a 14-game unbeaten streak (13-0-1) for the fourth longest run in CNU history.
The lone tally of the night would start in the hands of sophomore defender
Carson Friedlein as he set up for a long throw-in deep in the Marymount end of the field. His hefty heave reached the top of the six, where
Asher Kuzemka was able to flick a header across the goalmouth to find
Joe Summerfield on the back end of the play for the finish. Summerfield connected on his second goal of the season while Friedlein added his second assist and Kuzemka his first.
The score ended a stalemate of over 72 minutes as the two teams played even throughout much of the first half. The Captains controlled more of the action moving forward in the second half, putting eight shots on-goal against the Saints. Early in the second half, the Captains nearly had the first goal on a beautiful corner kick by
Josh Monzon, but the bender sailed just beyond the netting on the back post. Rookie
Ethan Arnolds had back-to-back attempts on frame in the 68th minute, but Marymount goalkeeper Bayron Banegas stopped both.
THe CNU goal came in the 73rd minute and
Ryan Buckon challenged Banegas with another shot just two minutes later.
Caleb Jones kept the pressure coming in the 76th minute with another rip on target. Finally,
Colin Skwirut added a late chance in the 86th minute that Banegas saved out of bounds.
In total, the Captains outshot the Saints, 8-3, in attempts on frame. In goal,
Hayden Dewey stopped all three shots on-goal to secure his fourth shutout of the season. He now boasts a 0.67 goals-against average in 810 minutes of play with an .838 save percentage.
This week, Christopher Newport will face two more opponents on the road as part of the current six-game road trip. The Captains first travel to cross-water rival Virginia Wesleyan on Wednesday, October 1 at 7:00 p.m. before trekking to Mary Washington on Saturday, October 4.
