BOSTON, Mass. -- After clinching the regular season conference crown in the Coast-To-Coast Athletic Conference with a pivotal 1-0 win on the road this week, the Christopher Newport men's soccer team was rewarded with both the Offensive and Defensive Player of the Week selected by the C2C office. Senior midfielder
Michael Hackworth was named the C2C Offensive Player of the Week and senior goalkeeper
Matt Yates collected C2C Defensive Player of the Week recognition.
It marks the second time this season that each CNU player has been named the conference player of the week with Yates earning his first certificate after week two and Hackworth named player of the week after week five. They are joined htis season by
Yazan Yaghmmour (Week 3 Offensive Player of the Week) and
Alex Stell (Week 6 Defensive Player of the Week).
This week, in arguably a must-win situation on the road, the Captains picked up a 1-0 win at Salisbury to close out the regular season. On the offensive end, Hackworth put the Captains ahead with a dynamic second-half score late in the game. His footwork and dribbling skills worked him free for a long-range dar into the upper 90 with ten minutes remaining against the Sea Gulls. It was his only shot in the game and held up as the game-winning goal.
This season, Hackworth has recorded three goals with one gamewinner while adding four assists for 10 points. He ranks third on the team in total scoring and has put six of his 16 total shots on frame this season.
On the other end of the field, Yates secured his second career shutout while taking on the talented Sea Gulls who were receiving votes in the national rankings. The senior from Virginia Beach made three saves, including a game-saving denial with seven minutes remaining to hold onto the clean sheet.
Taking on one of the top offensive weapons from Salisbury from close range, Yates made a quick reaction to turn away the opportunity and hold onto a 1-0 lead for the Captains. This season, he has a 0.92 goals-against average and has contributed to four total shutouts.
The Captains are off this week and await the NCAA Division III Selection Show to see if the team will earn an at-large berth into the postseason tournament, set to begin next weekend. A live online selection show will be available at NCAA.com on Monday, November 9 at 11:00 a.m.
