INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. -- After earning an at-large berth into the 2026 NCAA Division III Men's Soccer Championship, the Christopher Newport Captains (11-2-2) will take on Cortland (13-3-2), who also earned an at-large berth, in the first round at Montclair State University on Friday, November 14. In a live selection show on NCAA.com, the committee announced the 2026 bracket and the Captains are set to make the program's 16th NCAA tournament appearance. 

Head coach Justin Chezem has now led the Captains to the postseason tournament in six of his first seven seasons at the helm. The Captains boast a 17-12-5 all-time record in the NCAA Tournament and have won at least one game in the NCAA Tournament in seven straight appearances. 

Christopher Newport will play in the second game on Friday, kicking off at MSU Soccer Park at 6:30 p.m. on the campus of Montclair State in the neutral site bout. Ticket information, game coverage and more information will be announced at CNUsports.com as it is made available in the coming days. 

Along with CNU's opening round opponent, the two other teams in the first-round pod are Southern Virginia University (7-6-5) and the host Red Hawks of Montclair State University (16-2-3). The two advancing teams will then face off in the NCAA Second Round on Saturday. 

The Captains earned the team's trip to the postseason with an impressive regular season while facing a top-25 schedule in Division III this year. CNU is unbeaten in the last five games of the season including a marquee win against Salisbury University to capture the Coast-To-Coast Athletic Conference regular season championship. The offense has been led by a group of talented seniors with the top seven scorers on the team playing in their final campaign. Riley Usher has a team-high 15 points (6g, 3a) while Drew McWhinney, with 14 points (6g, 2a), and Michael Hackworth, with 10 points (3g, 4a), round out the top three; the other three seniors leading the offense are Yazan Yaghmmour (8 pts), Evan Rupe (6 pts), Colin Skwirut (5 pts) and Manzi Siibo (5 pts). 

Defensively, the Captains have posted a 0.93 goals-against average with senior Matt Yates started 13 of the 14 games this year. CNU has six shutouts with Yates fronted by a back line that includes Yaghmmour, Jackson Carlyon, Declan Karney, and Carson Friedlein. 

Cortland suffered a penalty kick shootout loss, 3-2, in the SUNYAC Men's Soccer Championship after playing to a 0-0 draw against Plattsburgh. The Red Dragons earned an at-large berth and are unbeaten in seven of their last eight games. They will be making the team's 25th NCAA Tournament appearance and ninth in the last ten seasons. Owen Brant leads the offense with 27 points (10g, 7a) and Diego Rivera has added 25 points (10g, 5a) while the defense ranks among the best in the nation, allowing just nine goals in 18 games for a 0.49 goals-against average.