Elon Men’s Soccer Hosts Northeastern to Open CAA Championships

ELON, N.C. – The Elon University men’s soccer team is set to take part in its first-ever Colonial Athletic Association Championship tournament as the fourth-seeded Phoenix welcomes fifth-seeded Northeastern to Rudd Field on Saturday, Nov. 8, in a quarterfinals match. Kickoff is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m.

Follow the Phoenix
Fans can follow the Phoenix on Saturday and throughout the postseason 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 online free of charge on Elon’s Phoenix All-Access. In-game updates will also be provided on Twitter at @elonscores or the program’s handle @elonmenssoccer.

CAA Men’s Soccer Tournament Schedule
Sat., Nov. 8: Quarterfinal 1 – #6 James Madison at #3 Hofstra – 7 p.m.
Sat., Nov. 8: Quarterfinal 2 – #5 Northeastern at #4 Elon – 7 p.m.
Fri., Nov. 14: Semifinal 1 – #2 UNCW vs. Hofstra/JMU winner – TBA*
Fri., Nov. 14: Semifinal 2 – #1 Delaware vs. Elon/Northeastern winner – TBA*
Sun., Nov. 16: Final – Semifinal 1 winner vs. Semifinal 2 winner – 1 p.m.*
*Semifinals and finals at the University of Delaware

Series History
Saturday’s match will be the third all-time meeting between the two schools on the soccer pitch. Elon leads the series with a 1-0-1 record with the Phoenix earning its first-ever CAA win with a 5-0 victory over the Huskies on Oct. 11. Caue Da Silva, Jason Waterman, Luis Argudo, James Brace and Eliot Browarsky each scored in the match. Senior goalkeeper Nathan Dean became the Phoenix’s all-time career leader in shutouts with 23 in the clean sheet.

Last Time Out
Elon had its seven-match unbeaten streak snapped at the hands of Delaware on Sunday, Nov. 2, in the form of a 2-1 setback. Both teams entered the match with control of its own destiny for the No. 1 seed for the tournament, but the maroon and gold could not overcome a 2-0 first-half deficit to the league’s preseason favorite.

About Elon (9-5-4, 4-2-2 CAA)
The maroon and gold is 5-1-2 on its home pitch this season and is unbeaten in its last four matches at Rudd Field. Since 2005, Elon has a record of 4-0-1 when hosting conference tournament matches dating back to its time in the Southern Conference.

Elon enters this weekend ranked No. 37 in the latest NCAA RPI report. The Phoenix is the second-highest ranked team in the CAA in the RPI report behind UNC Wilmington, who sits at No. 23. The maroon and gold is also one of four teams in the league that is in the top-65 in total RPI.

Redshirt sophomore Chad Craig was the latest Phoenix player to be honored by the league after earning the CAA Rookie of the Week on Monday. The Gilbertsville, Pa., native had a goal and a assist in Elon’s come-from-behind 2-1 road victory at College of Charleston last Wednesday, Oct. 29. The win clinched the maroon and gold a berth in the CAA Men’s Soccer Championships and increased its then-unbeaten streak to seven matches.

Sunday’s setback at Delaware was only the second time in conference play that Elon has allowed more than one goal and only the sixth goal given up overall against CAA competition. Elon has a goal-against-average of 0.83, which is currently the third-best performance in a single-season in school history.

Scouting Northeastern (7-10-1, 4-3-1 CAA)
The Huskies, under 10th-year head coach Brian Ainscough, earned the fifth seed for the CAA Championships with a 2-1 victory over James Madison in its regular-season finale last Saturday. The Huskies won the CAA tournament title in 2012.

Northeastern’s offensive attack includes leading point scorer Frantzdy Pierrot, who paces the squad in goals (five) and assists (three). Five other players have also notched a goal this season for the Huskies, who are averaging 0.94 goals per contest.

The Huskies have conceded a league-high 27 goals this season and are allowing 1.50 scores per match. Three different players has seen time between the posts this season for Northeastern with the trio giving up a GAA of 1.46 with a save percentage of .724.

Up Next
With a win, Elon advances to the semifinals for a rematch at No. 1 seed Delaware next Friday, Nov. 14. The game time of the match is to be determined.