ELON, N.C. – The Elon University men’s soccer team continues its Colonial Athletic Association slate this weekend as the Phoenix welcomes Northeastern to Rudd Field on Saturday, Oct. 11. The match is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m.
Follow the Phoenix
Fans can follow the Phoenix on Saturday and throughout the season with live updates on elonphoenix.com. Live stats for every men’s soccer match will be available on the team’s schedule and home pages on the Elon athletic website as well as an opportunity to sign up for text alerts. The match will also be streamed live online for free through Phoenix All-Access with Travis Elliott (play-by-play) and Coreena Boothroyd (color) on the call. In-game updates will also be provided on Twitter at @elonscores or the program’s handle @elonmenssoccer.
Series History
The Phoenix will meet its new conference foe, Northeastern, for just the second time in program history and the first time in Elon. The two programs battled to a 1-1 draw last season in the teams’ first-ever meeting at the John Reinne/Nike Classic at Duke. Elon fell behind 1-0 in the first half before Matt Wescoe provided the equalizer on a penalty kick late in the second stanza.
Last Time Out
The Phoenix battled William & Mary to a scoreless draw on Wednesday, Oct. 8, in its first-ever CAA road contest. Senior goalkeeper Nathan Dean tied the program’s all-time career record in shutouts with his 22nd career clean sheet, sharing honors with former Elon and current Colorado Rapids netminder Clint Irwin (2007-10).
About Elon (4-4-3, 0-1-1 CAA)
Elon has begun league play in its in new conference with a two-match winless streak after earning its draw on Wednesday. The maroon and gold improved to No. 49 in the latest NCAA RPI rankings on Monday, the second-highest ranked team in the CAA behind UNC Wilmington.
The shutout for the maroon and gold on Wednesday against the Tribe was the sixth of the season out of its 11 games. The six clean sheets leads the CAA and is tied for fourth all-time in school history in a single season with six matches to play. Elon also leads the league in fewest goals allowed with 10.
Dean also recently passed Irwin in the school record books in career saves, moving to seventh all-time with 233. He needs nine more to tie Drew Hook (1990-93) for sixth all-time at Elon at 242. Along with shutouts, the Liverpool, England, native also paces the league in goals against average (0.86) and shutouts per game (0.55).
Elon averages 11.73 shots per match, fifth-best in the league, but is struggling to find the back of the net while averaging only 0.73 goals per game. James Brace continues to lead the Phoenix in points (eight), goals (four), shots (24) and shots on goal (13). Brace is also the only player to have scored a goal at home this season for the Phoenix.
Scouting Northeastern (5-7-0, 2-0 CAA)
Northeastern defeated defending league champion Drexel, 1-0, in overtime on Wednesday to improve to 2-0 in conference play in its most recent match. The Huskies had previously opened CAA play with a 1-0 win at College of Charleston last Saturday, Oct. 4 and had won the CAA title in 2012.
Led by 10th-year head coach Brian Ainscough, the Huskies are averaging a goal per contest on 11.6 shots per game. Frantzdy Pierrot leads the team in points with seven on two goals and his team-best three assists while Brad Fountain has a team-high three goals on the year.
The Huskies’ defense is allowing 1.33 goals to the opposition on 11.4 shots per contest with opposing shooters averaging .423 percent of shots on frame. Two players have seen time in goal this season in Dylan Faber and Jonathan Thuresson with the pair averaging 1.31 GAA to go with 41 total saves.
Up Next
Elon moves back on the road to play at UNC Wilmington on Wednesday, Oct. 15. That game is slated to begin at 7 p.m.