ELON, N.C. – The Elon’s men soccer program received some national attention late Monday evening as the Phoenix was placed in the latest edition of the College Soccer America and College Soccer News Top 25 polls. Elon is ranked No. 17 in College Soccer America and No. 25 in the CSN.
Fresh off of defeating ranked opponents West Virginia and Furman last week, the Phoenix is also No. 2 in the NSCAA/Continental Tire NCAA Division I South Region Poll, jumping up from fourth. This marks the program’s first appearance in the national polls since 2006.
“It’s good for the program to be ranked nationally and be recognized for some of our results we had throughout the year,” said Elon’s head coach Darren Powell. “We must continue however to focus on our task day-to-day and work to keep improving throughout the rest of the season.”
Senior forward Chris Thomas also received national recognition by being named to the College Soccer News National Team of the Week. The Snellville, Ga., native tallied two goals and assisted on the game-winning score in the maroon and gold’s 3-2 upset of the then 18th-ranked Mountaineers on Tuesday, Oct. 2 before adding the golden goal in Elon’s 1-0 victory over then 22nd-ranked Furman on Saturday, Oct. 6.
Thomas leads the nation in goals (16), goals per game (1.40) and total points (35). He recently became Elon’s all-time leader in goals scored in a career and single-season while also setting the mark for points in a single year.
Elon improved to 8-2-1 on the year and 2-0 in the Southern Conference while extending its unbeaten match streak to six and eight of its last 10. With its wins last week and a 2-0 victory over then sixth-ranked Charlotte on Sept. 22, the Phoenix improves its record to 3-1 this year against ranked competition.
The Phoenix returns to SoCon action tomorrow night at Rudd Field when it hosts Wofford (7-4, 1-0 SoCon). Kickoff is slated for 7 p.m.