Elon Men’s Soccer Closes Out Regular Season at Delaware

ELON, N.C. – In a match that could determine the outcome of the Colonial Athletic Association regular-season championship, the Elon University men’s soccer team plays at Delaware on Sunday, Nov. 2, at 1 p.m. at the Stuart & Suzanne Grant Stadium in its regular-season finale.

Follow the Phoenix
Fans can follow the Phoenix on Sunday 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 be streamed online through Delaware’s athletic website. In-game updates will also be provided on Twitter at @elonscores or the program’s handle @elonmenssoccer.

Series History
Sunday’s matchup will be the first-time meeting between the two schools on the soccer pitch.

CAA Title Race
The Phoenix currently ranks first in the CAA standings with 14 points through its seven matches, ahead of UNC Wilmington, Delaware and Hofstra, who each have 13 points. Those teams also have clinched a spot in the upcoming league tournament along with James Madison, who is fifth in the standings with 11 points.

Elon controls its own destiny, as a win on Sunday will clinch the Phoenix the regular-season title outright. With a loss or a tie, Elon could fall no lower than the fifth seed for the championship tournament. Both Northeastern and William & Mary are battling for the sixth and final spot for the league championships.

Last Time Out
Elon pulled out a 2-1 double-overtime victory on Wednesday, Oct. 29, in a tough road match at College of Charleston. The Phoenix fell behind 1-0 in the opening stanza before tying the game in the 70th minute on Chad Craig’s second goal of the season. In the 105th minute, Jason Waterman netted his second game-winner of the year to give Elon the win and increase its unbeaten streak to seven matches.

About Elon (9-4-4, 4-1-2 CAA)
The backbone of the Phoenix’s success this season has been its defensive play. The maroon and gold enters the weekend still first in the CAA in fewest goals allowed (13), goals against average (0.72) and shutouts (nine).

During its seven-match unbeaten streak, the Phoenix has outscored opponents 13-3 and is allowing only 8.9 shot attempts to the opposition compared to just over 14 a game for the maroon and gold. Waterman has been the main offensive catalyst for Elon during the streak with four goals and an assist.

Four shutouts has been posted during the streak as Elon’s goalkeeper Nathan Dean is one clean sheet away from tying Clint Irwin (2007-10) for the most in school history in a single season. Irwin and the Phoenix had 10 shutouts in 2009.

Scouting Delaware (11-5-1, 4-2-1 CAA)
The 2014 CAA Preseason favorite as selected by the league coaches, eighth-year head coach Ian Hennessy leads the Delaware men’s soccer program. After suffering a 3-2 setback to Northeastern at home on Oct. 22, the Blue Hens have been unbeaten in two straight matches on the road including a 4-0 win over Drexel in its most recent match.

Offensively, Delaware leads the CAA in goals (38), points (104), shots (236), assists (28) and goals per game (2.24). The 2014 CAA Preseason Player of the Year, Guillermo Delgado, leads the league in goals (11) and points (23).

In net, Borja Barbero has started 16 of the team’s 17 matches and has a 1.08 GAA and a save percentage of .710.

Up Next
Elon will compete in the CAA Tournament, but the dates and location will not be determined until after Sunday’s results.