Elon Men’s Soccer Welcomes William & Mary for CAA Home Opener

ELON, N.C. – The Elon University men’s soccer team, looking to stop a three-match losing skid, will host William & Mary in its Colonial Athletic Association home opener on Wednesday, Sept. 26. Kickoff is slated for a 7 p.m. start time at Rudd Field.

Live StatsWatch

Follow @ElonMSoccer
Updates of the match on Wednesday will be provided on Twitter at the program’s handle @ElonMSoccer. The game will also be streamed on Phoenix All-Access at elonphoenix.com. For the latest on the Elon men’s soccer team, follow @ElonMSoccer on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook, as well as on the web at elonphoenix.com.

Greek Life and Student Night
Wednesday’s match will be “Greek Life Night” and “Student Night.” The program will give away free pizza to all students while giving away soccer scarves to the first 100 students that attend the match. All sororities and fraternities are welcomed for “Greek Life Night” in which the sorority or fraternity that shows up with the biggest crowd will earn the chance to earn money for their philanthropy

Series History
The series between the Phoenix and the Tribe is nine matches old with William & Mary holding the all-time advantage at 6-2-1. Since becoming league opponents in 2014, Elon has posted a 1-3-1 ledger versus the Tribe. Last season, the short-handed Phoenix battled to a 1-0 setback at William & Mary. The last time the programs met in Elon in 2016, the Tribe eliminated the Phoenix from the quarterfinal round of the CAA Tournament. The maroon and gold’s last victory over William & Mary came earlier that season with a 2-0 win at Rudd Field.

Opening Stanza
• Elon will look to snap a current three-match losing streak on Wednesday after falling at Drexel in its CAA opener on Saturday, Sept. 22, 3-2 in overtime. The setback was the first-ever against the Dragons for the Phoenix in five career meetings.
• The last time the Phoenix lost three straight games came in 2016. Two of the past three setbacks have come in extra session with Elon suffering a 1-0 defeat in double overtime at UNCG on Sept. 18.
• Wednesday will be the second home match of the season for Elon. The Phoenix hosted Charlotte in its home-opener on Sept. 11 and only has four other dates on its home pitch this season after Wednesday.
• On Saturday at Drexel, the Phoenix saw two more members score their first goal of the season in redshirt junior Nick Adamczyk and senior Amir Berkane. The pair became the 10th and 11th different goal scorer for the Phoenix so far in 2018 after having only seven different players tally at least one score in 2017.
• The Phoenix has accounted for 15 goals this season, just three off the entire total from last season. Elon is averaging 2.14 goals per match and has the second highest goal scoring game in the country with its eight goals at Rutgers on Sept. 2.
• Both Elon and William & Mary will vie for their first league points on Wednesday. James Madison currently leads the CAA standings with six points on its 2-0 record. Delaware and Drexel are next with three points while UNCW and Hofstra both have a point.

Scouting William & Mary
William & Mary will make its CAA-opener on Wednesday after its original league-opening match against College of Charleston on Sept. 14, was postponed due to Hurricane Florence. The Tribe last played versus Coastal Carolina at home last Friday, Sept. 21, losing 2-0 to the Chanticleers and falling to 2-4 overall on the season. After winning the CAA tournament title last season, the Tribe were tabbed as the 2018 CAA favorite by the league coaches.

The Tribe have scored nine goals so far in 2018 and is averaging 14.2 shots per contest. Nearly 39 of those attempts have come on target, but William & Mary’s opponents are hitting just under 49 percent of their shots on frame. Ryder Bell has a team-best four goals this season while 2018 CAA Preseason Player of the Year Antonio Bustamante has a league-best six assists so far on the season.

In goal, Connor Phillips has started all six games between the posts for the Tribe. The first-year player has a 2.34 goals-against average with 21 saves and a shutout.

Up Next
The Phoenix travels to Northeastern for its second CAA road trip on Saturday, Sept. 29. That game is slated for a 5 p.m. start.