NEWPORT NEWS, Va. -- After an electric season-opening weekend that saw Christopher Newport score ten goals, the nationally-ranked CNU men's soccer team will return to action against Rutgers-Camden and William Paterson this weekend. The 24th-ranked Captains (2-0-0) will host Rutgers-Camden (2-1-1) at 2:30 p.m. on Saturday, September 12 before welcoming in the Pioneers (2-1-1) at 3:30 p.m. on Sunday.
Live stats and live video will be available at CNUsports.com. Admission to regular season soccer games at Christopher Newport are free of charge.
The Captains opened the season with a 5-1 win against Moravian before adding a 5-0 victory versus Kean University. The two matchups this weekend will make three in a row against programs from New Jersey. First up, CNU will take on the Scarlet Raptors for the seventh time and enters the bout with a 5-0-1 record all-time against Rutgers-Camden. On Sunday, CNU faces William Paterson for just the fourth time but the Captains have secured wins in each of the first three.
Senior
Riley Usher leads the offense for Christopher Newport this season with three goals including one gamewinner. He has put five of his eight shots on target to lead the team in both categories while senior
Evan Rupe has added two goals on two shots this season. The offense has seen 11 different players notch at least one point through the first two games including
Manzi Siibo,
Michael Hackworth, and
Colin Skwirut with a goal and an assist each for three points.
The CNU defense has been led by veterans
Carson Friedlein and
Ben Sullivan with transfer
Jackson Carlyon starting both games so far this season. In goal, senior
Matt Yates has a 0.72 goals-against average in over 125 minutes played while
Henry Houser and
Caleb Johnson each played significant minutes during the opening weekend.
First up, the Captains will face a Rutgers-Camden squad coming off a 2-0 win at Arcadia earlier this week. The Scarlet Raptors also won 2-1 at Penn State Abington to open the season while leaning on a strong defense. Nik Grello and Willyam Veiga have each scored a goal and added an assist to lead the attack but the back line, featuring Okafor Norkeh, Cameron Jordan, and Joseph Kennedy, has allowed just three goals in four games. Aleksander Nycz has started three of the four in goal while Joe Zubert earned a shutout in his lone start of the year.
On Sunday, CNU takes on a William Paterson team riding a three-game unbeaten streak with wins against Baruch (2-1) and Centenary (2-0) sandwiching a scoreless draw at Mount Saint Vincent. Five different Pioneers have scored goals this season with Ethan Corrales and Jeremiah Joseph posting the winners so far. In goal, Luca Misko and Riccardo Prati have each started two games apiece with only three goals allowed between them.
Following the weekend's action, the Captains will welcome Mount Union and N.C. Wesleyan to round out a six-game homestand to start the season. CNU faces Mount Union on Friday, September 18 and the Battling Bishops on Saturday, September 19.
