Christopher Newport claimed a hard-fought 3-2 victory over Whitworth on Sunday in the NCAA Men's Soccer Sweet 16, advancing to Monday's Elite 8. The Captains (19-3-4) will meet the winner of the Kenyon/Ohio Wesleyan matchup at 1 p.m. on Monday with a spot in the Final Four at stake. 

CNU's Elite 8 appearance marks the seventh time a CAC team has advanced to the NCAA quarterfinal round, and the first since York in 2007. For the Captains, it marks the fourth Elite 8 appearance in program history, and first since 2009. 

The Captains became the first team to score against the Pirates defense since Oct. 26, snapping a scoreless streak of over 470 minutes coming into the contest. They are also only the second team all season to score more than twice against Whitworth. CNU hands the Pirates just their second loss of the season as Whitworth concludes their season with a 17-2-3 overall mark. 

A pair of first-half goals staked the Captains to an early lead, but it was an imperative insurance goal by senior leader Jalon Brown early in the second that would hold up as the gamewinner. Ryan Balfour (12th minute) and Alex Makumbi (17th minute) registered first-half tallies to give CNU an early 2-0 lead, but Whitworth fought back with a score late in the first half to pull within 2-1 at the intermission. 

Brown's goals just after halftime pushed the CNU advantage to 3-1. Whitworth once again cut into the Captains' lead with a goal in the 71st minute, but the CNU defense held firm down the stretch to preserve the win. 

Goalkeeper Sam Lesko had a big game for the Captains, tallying six saves to earn the victory.