NEWPORT NEWS, Va. -- With a goal scored by senior defender Asher Kuzemka in the 70th minute, the Christopher Newport men's soccer team re-took the lead and held on for a 2-1 win against the University of Redlands (1-3-0). It marks the third straight 2-1 loss for the Bulldogs while Christopher Newport captured a second straight win and improved to 2-0-2 on the year. 

Kuzemka's go-ahead goal came off a long throw from Carson Friedlein in the 70th minute of play. Friedlein delivered a long pass from the sideline and the ball bounced once in the box before Kuzemka put a head on it toward frame. His shot snuck by the diving keeper and gave Christopher Newport a 2-1 lead. It marks the first goal since his freshman season after the former midfielder shifted back to playing All-Region level defense. 

Prior to the heroic finish by the senior team captain, Christopher Newport jumped out to a 1-0 lead against the formidable opponent with a goal in the 18th minute of play. Rookie Ethan Arnolds created the score when the ball nearly trickled out of bounds in front of the CNU bench, but Arnolds got a touch to keep it in play down the line. He raced toward the end line and, running with him, Drew McWhinney found his way into the box. Arnolds looked up and delivered a pass from the corner to find the sprinting McWhinney in the middle of the box; the junior leaped and headed home his first goal of the season to give the Captains a 1-0 lead. 

The lead would hold at 1-0 through halftime as the CNU defense held the Bulldogs to just four total shots in the first 45 minutes. Against the Redlands keeper, the Captains challenged for a second goal on three consecutive plays after the first goal. First, Miles Maggioncalda had a missile denied by a diving save after a corner kick. Then, moments later, Ryan Buckon was free with only the keeper to beat, but his low shot was collected by the Redlands netminder. Finally, McWhinney had another shot stopped, capping the burst that saw CNU take four shots in just 2:15 of game time. 

Redlands found the equalizer just 6:10 into the second half when Anders Beckton fought through contact in the box to shuffle in a shot after a cross from Gavin Facer. With the score level, both teams looked for the edge offensively. Manzi Siibo provided Christopher Newport with quality minutes in the midfield, connecting passes on potential chances for the Captains before the goal came through in the 70th minute. Colin Skwirut and Bilal Hawa also had big moments in the midfield for CNU. 

The winning goal gave the Captains the edge, but the final 20 minutes were in question throughout. Redlands threatened the CNU defense but the Captains refused to allow another game-tying goal. The CNU goalkeeper, Hayden Dewey, snared the final attempt from the field in the 87th minute and also made a pivotal decision to come out on a corner kick to snag a head-high ball with minutes to play. 

Following the victory, Christopher Newport will turn to the next weekend when they will wrap up a six-game season-opening homestand against Rutgers-Camden and Hampden-Sydney. CNU will play the first game at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday, September 13 followed by the matchup with H-SC at 1:00 p.m. on Sunday, September 14.