#6 Captains Open Season With 5-0 Surge Over Catholic
NEWPORT NEWS, Va. -- The sixth-ranked Christopher Newport University men's soccer team kicked off their season as if they were mid-season form tonight, beating Catholic University (0-1) by a final of 5-0. CNU (1-0) not only scored in a flourish, but also were strong defensively to earn the shutout, allowing just five shots, two on-goal.
The Captains wasted little time getting on the board in their first appearance of 2011, as 2010's leading scorer and All-American Brian Lybert connected in the 10th minute of action. Lybert scored after a pair of pretty connecting passes down the left side, as rookie Jalon Brown slipped a pass to junior midfielder Denny Arinello, who crossed it into the goalmouth with one touch.
CNU added another goal less than two minutes later on a long throw-in from defender Caleb Baker. His throw reached the heel of senior All-American Winston Mattheisen, and the touch scooted past the keeper on the left side. He added a second goal just seven minutes later after deflecting a shot from Lybert. The two goals moved him into sole possession of third place all-time on the CNU goals list (40) and points list (94).
The Captains added one more in the first half, as sophomore forward Jack Cooper beat the keeper on a fast-break after a beautiful through pass from Andrew Bonorden. Just eight minutes into the second half, Brown added a goal to his collegiate debut to round out the scoring.
Defensively, the Captains were strong with senior David Haas anchoring a new-look back line. Junior Sean Moriarty returned to the starting lineup, but rookie Tommy O'Neal and sophomore Caleb Baker filled in the gaps at the outside back position. CNU allowed just two shots on-goal all night, earning senior goalkeeper Justin Wolfe his first shutout of the season.
Catholic was led by Jon Paciorek and Ben Fieri with one shot-on-goal apiece. Two goalkeepers split duties, as Sean Libby allowed four goals and made four saves in the first half, while Torsten Meuschke allowed one goal and made four saves in the second half.
Christopher Newport will return to action on the second day of the 2011 Joe Pombriant/CNU Soccer Classic on Saturday, with game time set for 7:30 pm against York College (Pa.). York suffered a loss on Friday, 0-1, to Virginia Wesleyan, who will take on Catholic University in the first game tomorrow, at 5pm.
CUA 0 0 0
CNU 4 1 5
9:21 CNU Lybert, Brian (1) from Brown and Arinello
11:13 CNU Mattheisen, Winston (1) from Baker
18:02 CNU Mattheisen, Winston (2) from Lybert and Arinello
31:44 CNU Cooper, Jack (1) from Bonorden
53:38 CNU Brown, Jalon (1) unassisted
Shots: CUA (5), CNU (20)
Corner Kicks: CUA (5), CNU (6)
Saves: CUA-Libby (4), Meuschke (4); CNU-Wolfe (2)
