CNU Wins USA South over NC Wesleyan-Former Legacy Players named POTY, Tournament MVP

MARTINSVILLE, Va. - Christopher Newport's fifth-ranked men's soccer team claimed its first-ever USA
South championship by out-scoring N.C. Wesleyan on penalty kicks, 4-2, after battling to a 1-1 double overtime tie.

The Captains drew first blood in the sixth minute when Brian Lybert put one into the right corner on a pass from Nao Masuda.

But the Bishops tied it barely four minutes into the second half, and held on through two overtimes playing shorthanded after receiving a red card in the final minute and a half of regulation.

CNU goalkeeper Justin Wolfe (Legacy Alum) stopped one Bishop PK, and Wesleyan had another hit the post, while CNU scored on all four of its attempts, by Clif Kipper (Legacy Alum), Joseph O'Connell, Masuda and Andrew Bonorden (Legacy Alum), who netted the game-winner.

CNU out-shot the Bishops, 16-10, with Wolfe making seven saves and earning MVP honors. With him on the all-tournament team were Lybert, Sean Moriarty (Legacy Alum), Masuda and Kevin Greenberg.

CNU will host the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament this weekend.  They will play Cabrini College and Lynchburg will play Catholic in the other match.

The Captains are 17-2-1. In addition the tournament championship, they also won the regular season. The fifth-ranked CNU men's soccer team grabbed six of the 11 spots on the USA South all-conference first team, and added two more to the second team, in awards announced by the conference Wednesday.

In addition, sophomore Winston Mattheisen (Legacy Alum) was named Player of the Year and Steve Shaw (Legacy) Coach of the Year.

Mattheisen was joined by sophomore Nao Masuda as forwards on the first team. Sophomore Clif Kipper (Legacy Alum) was tabbed in the midfield, senior Kevin Greenberg and freshman Sean Moriarty (Legacy Alum) on defense and sophomore Justin Wolfe (Legacy Alum) as goalkeeper. Chosen to the second team were sophomore Brian Lybert in the midfield and sophomore David Haas (Legacy Alum) on defense.

Mattheisen leads CNU in scoring with 11 goals and three assists, while Masuda has seven goals and two assists. Kipper has seven goals and three assists, while Lybert has four and five respectively.

The defenders, collectively, have allowed just 15 goals in 18 games as CNU has compiled a 16-2 record. Wolfe has a 0.85 goals against average while facing CNU's usual tough schedule of opponents.

For Shaw it is the sixth time in his 14 seasons at CNU that he has been named Coach of the Year, including the last two.