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NEWPORT NEWS, Va. -- Making their first ever Capital Athletic Conference Tournament appearance, the third-seeded Christopher Newport men's soccer team was staked to a 2-0 halftime lead over sixth-seeded Wesley College (8-10-2), but would have to answer a second-half rally to win, 3-2, and advance to the semifinals. The thrilling victory was win No. 250 in the career of head coach Steve Shaw, as the Captains (13-5-1) got the winner from league-leading scorer Jalon Brown in the 60th minute of play. 

Shaw became the fifth active head coach to reach the milestone victory this season, and joins an illustrious group of 44 active coaches with 250 wins or more. The Dean of CNU head coaches improved his overall record to 250-91-22, for a win percentage of 71.9%.

The two teams battled throughout the game, with each team connecting on opportunities and narrowly missing others. In the first half, it was CNU that would take advantage early to pull ahead by two goals. 

In the span of 35 seconds just 16 minutes into the game, the Captains picked up back-to-back goals from a pair of seniors for the lead. First, rookie Jimmy Grace set up senior midfielder Caleb Lewis for a goal in the 16th minute of action. Grace played a pass between two defenders on the left side of the box. Lewis dribbled inside the 18 and slipped a low shot into the right side of the goal. 

Then, off the ensuing kickoff, it was another senior, Jack Cooper, who came through with a big goal. Sophomore midfielder Mark Brewington blasted a hard shot from the right side and Wesley goalkeeper mark Mattern stopped the attempt, but couldn't hold onto the save. The ball bounced out to the middle of the box, where Cooper cleaned up the goal with a powerful shot into the back of the net. 

Both keepers were tested in the first half, as Mattern picked up four saves in the remainder of the frame. CNU goalkeeper Sean Killion added four saves of his own to keep the Wolverines off the board. After halftime, though, the visitors got things going early to even the score. 

Just 4:30 into the second stanza, Emman Amao picked up the first of two assists in the game when he took a long throw from the right side. His pass was bobbled by Killion, and the Wolverines' leading scorer, Will Mileski collected and fired in the first goal of the game for Wesley. Then, just four minutes later, Amao played a perfect pass up the right side to Danny Ramirez, who scored his fourth goal of the year for the equalizer. 

With their two goal lead erased, the Captains would not waste much time re-taking the lead. In the 60th minute, Cooper found Brown alone just outside of the box on the left side. With a one-on-one opportunity, Jalon dribbled at the keeper before striking a perfect shot off the right post, banging in the game-winning goal for his 13th tally of the season. 

As the pressure of their season ending mounted, the Wolverines ratcheted up the pressure late in the game. Though Killion needed to make just one more save in the game, the opportunities were plenty for Wesley to tie the game again. With less than six minutes to go, Amao nearly picked up a third assist as he showed terrific footwork down the right side. He slipped through a handful of Captains defenders before feeding Mileski inside the box. Killion could not corral the first touch and with an open look at goal, Mileski's attempt was hammered off the right post and back out onto the field of play.  

Escaping the Wolverines' best chance late in the game, CNU would hold on for the 3-2 victory, improving to 6-3 at home this year. The win also handed Wesley it's fourth loss on Captains Field this year, as the team suffered two setbacks in the season-opening Joe Pombriant/CNU Classic, followed by a shutout loss to Christopher Newport in the regular season. 

The Captains will now advance to the CAC Tournament Semifinals, where they will take on second-seeded and 7th-ranked York College (Pa.). The game will be played on Wednesday, November 6 on the road, where CNU forced double-overtime before falling to the Spartans earlier this season.