No. 21 Elon Men’s Soccer Hosts Radford in Regular-Season Finale

ELON, N.C. – The 21st-ranked Elon University men’s soccer team closes out its 2015 regular-season campaign this week as the Phoenix hosts Radford in non-conference match at Rudd Field on Wednesday, Nov. 4, at 7 p.m.

Follow the Phoenix
Fans can follow the Phoenix on Wednesday 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. In-game updates will also be provided on Twitter at @elonscores or the program’s handle @elonmenssoccer. The match will be streamed for free online on Phoenix All-Access.

Series History
Wednesday’s contest will be the 19th overall meeting between the Phoenix and the Highlanders in a series dating back to 1998. Radford currently holds a 9-6-3 record over Elon all-time with the two teams earning a 1-1 draw in last year’s contest at Radford. The Phoenix earned a 1-0 victory in 2013 over the Highlanders the last time the two programs met in Elon.

Last Time Out
Senior Nathan Diehl’s golden goal in the 108th minute helped the Phoenix to 1-0 double-overtime win over College of Charleston on Saturday, Oct. 31, at Rudd Field. The victory, coupled with Hofstra losing to James Madison on Saturday, clinched Elon a share of the Colonial Athletic Association regular-season title and the No. 2 seed for the upcoming CAA Tournament.

The Road to the CAA Championship
The 2015 CAA Men’s Soccer Championships begin on Nov. 7 with quarterfinals action at selected hosts sites. No. 4 College of Charleston (7-7-2, 4-3-1 in CAA) will host No. 5 James Madison (4-9-4, 3-3-2 in the CAA), while No. 3 Delaware (9-6-3, 5-2-1 in CAA) will entertain No. 6 UNCW (8-6-3, 3-3-2 in the CAA).

The semifinals and championship rounds will be played in Hempstead, N.Y., on Friday, Nov. 13, with top-seeded Hofstra (11-7, 6-2 in CAA) facing the CofC/JMU winner and No. 2 Elon (13-4, 6-2 in CAA) meeting the Delaware/UNCW winner. The championship game is set for 2:30 p.m. on Sunday, November 15 and will be televised live on the American Sports Network.

Phoenix Nationally Ranked
Elon is ranked at No. 21 in the most recent National Soccer Coaches Association (NSCAA) Top 25 Poll and has been nationally ranked for seven consecutive weeks – its longest streak in program history.

Elon Sits at No. 20 in NCAA RPI Report
The Phoenix improved its standing in the recent NCAA Ratings Percentage Index (RPI) on Monday, Nov. 2, and is No. 20 in the nation, a four-spot improvement from last week. Wednesday’s match versus Radford will have key RPI implications with the Highlanders currently No. 32 in the RPI report.

Jegier Named CAA Co-Rookie of the Week
Redshirt freshman keeper Matthew Jegier was selected as the CAA Co-Rookie of the Week on Monday sharing honors with Drexel’s Francisco Rodrigues da Palma. It’s the second CAA Rookie weekly award for the Charlotte, N.C., native after he earned his league-best eighth shutout of the season in Elon’s 1-0 win over the Cougars.

Jegier’s eight clean sheets puts him in a tie for fourth all-time in program history for shutouts in a single-season. Those eight shutouts also put Jegier in a tie for seventh in school history for career shutouts in only his first season as a starter.

About Elon (13-4, 6-2 CAA)
Elon’s 13 regular-season wins ties its Division I program-record, a feat reached now three times out of the last four seasons. Since 2012, Elon has posted an overall record of 52-20-9. The Phoenix is also a perfect 6-0 at the home confines of Rudd Field this season.

The Phoenix continues to lead the conference with 32 goals on the year and an average of 1.88 per contest. Five players have four or more goals this season for the Phoenix with James Brace and Eduardo Alvarez still leading the way with five each. A total of 11 players have found the back of the net for Elon, its highest team total since 2011.

Scouting Radford (12-2-2, 7-7-1 Big South)
Radford is 12-2-2 and 7-1-1 in the Big South Conference after earning a scoreless draw at No. 10 Coastal Carolina last Saturday, Oct. 31. The Highlanders and head coach Marc Reeves are unbeaten in its last four games overall.

The Highlanders have 36 goals scored this season with 10 of those coming from freshman striker Sivert Daehlie. The rookie had scored five goals during Radford’s three-game win streak prior to Saturday’s contest against the Chanticleers.

In goal, Altor Pouseu Blanco has started all 16 games for the Highlanders and is allowing only 12 goals this season (0.76 GAA) to go with 41 saves.

Up Next
The Phoenix will play again in the semifinal round of the CAA Tournament on Friday, Nov. 13, in Hempstead, N.Y., versus the winner between No. 2 seed Delaware and No. 6 seed UNCW. That time has yet to be determined.