NEWPORT NEWS, Va. -- The nationally-ranked Christopher Newport men's soccer team will open the 2026 schedule at home this weekend, kicking off a six-game homestand at Captains Field. The 24th-ranked Christopher Newport squad will welcome Moravian University (1-0-0) for a 5:00 p.m. kickoff in the opener on Friday and will then host Kean University (1-0-0) on Sunday afternoon at 1:30 p.m.
The Captains are set to embark on the seventh season under head coach
Justin Chezem after ending last season with a 13-3-5 overall record and a conference championship. This season, CNU has been picked to repeat as Coast-To-Coast Athletic Conference Champions and are ranked No. 24 in the preseason coaches poll nationally.
CNU will be taking on Moravian for the fourth time and the first since 2022. The Captains are 2-1-0 all-time against the Greyhounds including a 1-0-0 record in home games. On Sunday, CNU will face a Kean University squad for the seventh time boasting a 5-1-0 record against the Cougars. The last time the Captains faced Kean was in 2010, extending a three-match win streak with a 3-1 win on a neutral field in Virginia Beach.
For fans unable to attend the games in person, live stats and a live video webcast will be available at CNUsports.com.
The Captains have yet to play this season while both Moravian and Kean enter the weekend with a win under their belts. Kean will face Batten University on Friday before taking on CNU on Sunday afternoon.
Christopher Newport returns second team All-Region defender
Carson Friedlein to anchor a dominant defense that allowed just 16 goals in 21 games last season. Also back on defense are veterans
Yazan Yaghmmour,
Ben Sullivan,
Declan Karney,
Josh Monzon, and
Miles Maggioncalda. The group ranked among the top-30 nationally in goals-against average and was also 34th in save percentage.
Offensively, the Captains return a bevy of weapons including seniors
Manzi Siibo,
Drew McWhinney,
Joe Summerfield, and
Michael Hackworth. The quartet combined for 27 points last season including a team-high four goals for both Summerfield and McWhinney.
Moravian started the year th a 2-0 win over Muhlenberg on Wednesday as Sean Kirwin put away the gamewinner and Aidan McMillan added an insurance tally for the Greyhounds. Joey Varano made a pair of saves to secure the shutout for the home team.
Kean notched an 8-1 win at Saint Elizabeth on Tuesday, September 1 in the Cougars' opener with 23 shots including 18 on goal. Six different players scored goals in the game including a brace for both Christian Rua and Dariel Mejia, who aalso added an assist. Kean scored six goals in the second half to pull away for the season-opening win.
Following the first weekend of action, Christopher Newport will remain at home for two more games next weekend against Rutgers-Camden and William Paterson.
