Soccer starts the season on the right foot

Mark Graziano/OCPR

The Christopher Newport University Men’s soccer team opened its season with wins over visiting Catholic University and York College (Pa.) during the Joe Pombriant/CNU Soccer Classic this past weekend.

The team, ranked sixth nationally heading into the season, started Friday night by notching four goals in the first half against Catholic. Senior midfielder Brian Lybert started things off with a score in the 10th minute, connecting on a cross from junior midfielder Denny Arinello.

Senior forward Winston Mattheisen added two more goals, one off of a throw-in in the 12th minute, and a redirected shot by Lybert in the 19th. Sophomore forward Jack Cooper added a fourth goal before the end of the first half by beating the keeper on a fast break.

The only goal scored in the second half came from freshman midfielder Jalon Brown. Senior keeper Justin Wolfe was impassible, earning a shutout in the 5-0 victory.

The second game against York College saw Lybert, Mattheisen and Cooper contributing yet again. However, York struck early when a penalty kick was awarded in the first minute of play. After several close opportunities, Lybert responded by finishing on a cross from Mattheisen in the 31st minute to tie the game at 1-1.

CNU thought they had a second goal late in the first half, as sophomore midfielder Caleb Lewis took the ball up the left sideline and crossed it in front of the goal. The ball appeared to miss several CNU players and deflect off a York player for an own goal, but the score was negated by an offsides call. “It happens,” said Lybert. “Obviously everything isn’t going to go our way, but you’ve got to get over it.”

Returning in the second half, CNU continued to press the offensive and look for the go-ahead goal. Cooper would answer the call, appearing in the right place at the right time. Junior forward Andrew Bonorden set Cooper up with a cross from the left side, which turned into a foot race between Cooper and a York defender. Just as the York goalie attempted to cover the ball, Cooper reached out and struck the ball through for the game winner. “Bo [Andrew] played in a really nice ball and I thought the other guy was going to beat me to it,” Cooper said. “But I lunged for it and managed to get a touch on it.”

CNU continued to press the York defense, and Mattheisen beat three defenders in the 82nd minute, lining a shot to the back left corner for his third goal in two games. This goal made the score 3-1, and the CNU defense held on for the victory. “It comes from all angles now, so we’re very dangerous,” said Lybert, the leading scorer from last year and one of two Captains named as an All-American. “The competition is what drives us. Everyone is healthy and wants to get a starting position. Competition in practice is really pushing us.”

The team credits its early success to coming back from the offseason with no injuries. “I think we all took the offseason seriously. We’ve been doing a lot of running on the Noland Trail and everyone has been coming through for us,” said Cooper.

“Everybody came in in great shape,” added Mattheisen. “We had no injuries. Every game, everyone is coming out to beat us, so we’ve got to keep it up every game.”

After the tournament, Mattheisen was named the USA South player of the week. After starting the season with three goals and an assist, he is only two goals from moving into second place on the CNU all-time scoring list. Mattheisen is looking to build on a season in which he was named to the USA South All-Conference team, and an All-American for the second time.

The team will host Virginia Wesleyan College next Friday at 7 p.m. Wesleyan lost to Catholic University in a closely contested match right before CNU played against York College. “I think the intensity and discipline is going to be there,” said Head Coach Steve Shaw. “We’re going to be focused and excited and hopefully get a good crowd.”

Posted by Pierce Yarberry on Sep 7 2011. Filed under Soccer, Sports. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. Both comments and pings are currently closed.