Elon Women’s Soccer Heads North for CAA Games at Hofstra and Northeastern

ELON, N.C. – The Elon University women’s soccer team will look to continue its winning ways as the Phoenix heads north to face Hofstra on Friday, Oct. 7, at 7 p.m. and Northeastern on Sunday, Oct. 9, at 12 p.m. for a Colonial Athletic Association road swing.

FOLLOW THE PHOENIX
You can watch both matches on CAA.TV. Updates on the match against the Pride and the Huskies will be provided on Twitter at the handle @elonscores and the program’s handle, @ElonWSoccer.

LAST TIME OUT
After closing out the non-conference schedule with a 2-0 home victory over South Carolina State on Thursday, Sept. 29, the Phoenix earned a 3-0 CAA road victory on Sunday, Oct. 2, at William & Mary. Taylor Paradoski scored twice in the first half and assisted Tori Baliatico’s second-half goal to lead the Phoenix its fifth shutout victory of the season.

SERIES HISTORY
The Hofstra Pride leads the all-time series 2-0 against Elon. The Pride won the first meeting 4-1 on Sept. 26, 2014 and the Phoenix narrowly lost 2-0 on Sept. 27, 2015. Against the Huskies, Northeastern holds a slight 1-0-1 overall advantage against the Phoenix. Elon earned a scoreless draw on Sept. 25, 2015 and lost to the Huskies 4-0 in the first meeting on Sept. 28, 2014. These matches will be the first time that the Phoenix has faced Hofstra and Northeastern on the road.

ABOUT ELON
Elon currently has a 7-5-1 overall record and is 2-1 overall in conference play. The maroon and gold opened its CAA slate on Rudd Field with a 2-1 overtime win against Towson on Sept. 23 and a 3-1 loss to James Madison on Sept. 25 before defeating William & Mary, 3-0, on Sunday afternoon. Elon currently leads the league in total points (20) in CAA play through three matches.

The Phoenix finished with a 5-4-1 overall record against non-conference opponents, which included three teams ranked in the top-three of their league’s preseason poll (High Point, UNCG and Coastal Carolina) and one top-10 nationally ranked opponent (#8 Clemson). The maroon and gold is currently unbeaten in four of its last five non-conference matches.

Nine different players have scored for the Phoenix so far this season. Tori Baliatico has a team-high four goals this season. Susannah Anderson recorded her team-high fourth assist on Taylor Paradoski’s second goal against William & Mary.

The Phoenix squad has 20 returners from the 2015 season, which posted a winning record of 9-8-2 and started the year with a Division I era program-best, 7-1-1 mark, in the first nine games. Elon has infused 10 newcomers into the fold, which includes nine total freshmen, three of which are international student-athletes, and graduate transfer Bria Bass.

PARADOSKI NAMED CAA ROOKIE OF THE WEEK
After tallying five total points with two goals and an assist in a 3-0 win at William & Mary on Sunday, Oct. 2, freshman forward Taylor Paradoski has been named the CAA Rookie of the Week on Monday, Oct. 3. Paradoski scored twice in the first half, scored the game-winning goal, and assisted Tori Baliatico’s goal in the second half to lead the Phoenix to a 3-0 road victory against the Tribe.

Paradoski scored her first of the match with a clam finish off Nyah Spearman’s through-ball in the 38th minute to put the Phoenix ahead, 1-0. She then scored in the 40th minute after Elon won a free kick. The Rochester, Mich. native slotted home a redirected ball from Rakel Jonsdottir to extend Elon’s lead to 2-0 heading into halftime. Paradoski earned Elon’s second Rookie of the Week honor as freshman goalkeeper Katelyn Fowler was named CAA Rookie of the Week on Sept. 5.

NEAL MAKES HISTORY
Ninth-year head coach Chris Neal made history on Aug. 19th, becoming the winningest coach in program history with his 75th career victory at Elon. He surpassed Paul Webster (1995-2003) for the most wins in Elon women’s soccer program history. He earned his 79th win on Friday against Towson.

BALIATICO HONORED
Sophomore Tori Baliatico earned Honorable Mention accolades by the conference as part of the 2016 Preseason All-CAA Team. The Scotch Plains, N.J. native finished tied for first on the team in points (9) and goals (4) last season and earned 2015 CAA All-Rookie Team honors. She has already scored one goal to begin this season.

SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS
Hofstra
The Pride are 6-6-1 overall and 0-4 in league play at this point in the season. Despite losing its first four league matches, Hofstra has picked up good victories during a tough non-conference schedule against Fordham, Fairleigh Dickinson, Columbia, Boston University, Buffalo and UNCG. Jill Mulholland has been a force for the Pride as she has scored eight goals and tallied five assists for 21 points this season, which is first in the CAA. Kristen Desmond will also be a factor as she has five goals and two assists this season.

Northeastern
The Huskies are currently tied for the league-lead with Drexel as the squad’s current record is at 8-5-1 overall and 3-1 in CAA play. Northeastern has opened league play on the road and earning victories at Drexel, UNCW and College of Charleston. Highlighting the big wins during the non-conference portion of the Huskies’ schedule include victories against Providence, La Salle, Holy Cross, Boston University, and New Hampshire. Kayla Cappuzzo will be the player to watch as the Preseason All-CAA player has four goals and assists for 12 points thus far. Defensively, Northeastern has only allowed 1.09 goals per game this season, which ranks third in the CAA.

UP NEXT
The Phoenix will return home for the final time this regular season with matches against Drexel and Delaware. Elon will face the Dragons on Friday, Oct. 14, at 7 p.m.
and the Blue Hens for Senior Day on Sunday, Oct. 16, at 1 p.m.