NEWPORT NEWS, Va. -- For the second straight game to start the 2026 season, the nationally-ranked Christopher Newport men's soccer team netted five goals to cruise past their opponent as the Captains won 5-0 over Kean University on a toasty, sunny afternoon at Captains Field.
Five different goal scorers found the back of the net with all five goals coming in the first half. Senior
Michael Hackworth led the offense with an assist on the game-winning goal in the 6th minute before notching a tally of his own in the 16th minute.
Colin Skwirut added his first goal of the season while
Riley Usher (3) and
Evan Rupe (2) each continued their hot starts with goals.
CNU outshot the Cougars, 21-5, including a decisive 17-1 advantage in the first half. THe Captains got six corner kicks and did not surrender one in the dominant first half and put ten shots on frame before halftime.
The torrid start to the offensive fireworks came on a corner kick just 5:42 into the contest. Hackworth delivered an in-swinger from the right corner and rookie
Azarya Mickael made an electric play with a diving header on the back post for the score. His first career goal would hold up as the gamewinner off the feed from the senior from Yorktown.
Just under ten minutes of game time later, the Captains doubled the lead when Hackworth stole the ball around midfield. Ripping the ball from his defender, he sprinted 30 yards toward the box before encountering another Kean player. He touched inside to get by the Cougar and then smashed a left-footed dart off the far post and into the netting for the score.
Now with a comfortable lead, the Captains continued to add pressure to the Kean back line. CNU scored three more goals in the span of 11:42 on the clock late in the first half. The first came when
Alex Stell sent a long cross over the box on a corner kick and
Manzi Siibo was there to corral the loose ball. On the end line, he scooted a pass back to the top of the box where
Colin Skwirut was waiting for a chance; the senior from Hampton used the cover of crowd in the box to power home a low liner into the right side of the goal. The next tally was
Riley Usher's third goal of the season after an exceptional connection started again by Stell. The midfielder played a ball from the middle out to the sideline for
Tim McGuire and McGuire used just one touch to power a long pass up the line for Usher streaking by his defender. With just one man to beat, Usher beat the keeper and scored to make it 4-0.
The fifth and final goal of the first half came with just over two minutes left in the period.
Ryan Buckon fired a hard shot off the keeper from the right side and
Evan Rupe was there to clean up the ricochet as he bumped in his second goal of the year on the loose ball.
The Captains carried a 5-0 lead into the break with 10 of their 17 first-half shots being on target. In the second half, CNU pressured some more but could not add to the lead and would secure the 5-0 clean sheet.
In goal,
Matt Yates earned the win by playing the full first half. He handed the ball off to
Henry Houser for 23:25 and
Caleb Johnson closed out the combined shutout.
Christopher Newport will remain at home for next weekend's action as they are set to host two more schools from New Jersey. The Captains welcome Rutgers-Camden on Saturday, September 12 at 2:30 p.m. and will host William Paterson University on Sunday, September 13 at 3:30 p.m
