ELON, N.C. – Coming off earning its first point during league play on Wednesday, the Elon University men’s soccer team continues Colonial Athletic Association play this Saturday, Sept. 29, as the Phoenix journeys to Boston to meet Northeastern. Kickoff from Parsons Field is scheduled for 5 p.m.
Follow @ElonMSoccer
Updates of the match this Saturday will be provided on Twitter at the program’s handle @ElonMSoccer. The game will also be streamed via Northeastern’s athletic website at gonu.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.
Series History
Elon will meet Northeastern on the soccer pitch for the seventh time this Saturday in a series that began in 2013, a year prior to the Phoenix joining the CAA. Elon has the all-time advantage over the Huskies, 4-1-1, including two straight victories. Last season, the Phoenix posted its best scoring output of the season in a 4-0 victory against the Huskies at Rudd Field with Tuki Tayali netting a hat trick in the match. The Phoenix earned a 1-0 win over the Huskies the last time the two teams squared at Northeastern in 2016.
Opening Stanza
• The Phoenix snapped its season-high three-game losing streak with its 1-1 draw versus William & Mary on Wednesday, Sept. 26, at Rudd Field. The result moved Elon to 3-4-1 overall on the season and 0-1-1 during CAA play.
• Iñigo Bronte leveled the match for the Phoenix with his team-best fourth goal on the season. The redshirt junior striker leads the program with nine points on the season, which is tied for fourth in the league.
• Elon has scored 16 goals this season and is averaging 2.00 goals per match. The Phoenix is also slightly outshooting its opponents, 86-80, on the year with 37 of those attempts being on target at 43 percent.
• Hassan Pinto had the assist on Bronte’s goal against the Tribe on Wednesday, his second of the year. The Durham, N.C., native is tied for the team-lead in that category with senior Jack Willbye and freshman Jack Edwards.
• The Phoenix has played into extra time in its last three matches at UNCG, at Drexel and versus William & Mary. So far, Elon is 0-2-1 in games that have gone to overtime this season.
• Elon head coach Marc Reeves is five victories shy of claiming No. 90 in his collegiate coaching career. Reeves boasts a career record of 85-52-27 with 75 of those wins coming as the head coach at Radford for seven seasons (2010-2016).
• In the most recent RPI rankings released on Tuesday, Sept. 25, Elon is 87th in the nation.
Last Time Out
Elon snapped a three-match losing streak and earned its first point during CAA play with a 1-1 draw versus William & Mary in its league home opener on Wednesday, Sept. 26. The start time of the match delayed an hour due to lightening.
The Tribe (2-4-1, 0-0-1 CAA) took the lead over the Phoenix late in the opening stanza on a goal by Devin McCarthy with just nine seconds left in the first period. Elon’s Iñigo Bronte would level the match in the 61st minute with his fourth score of the season before the game would head into extra session. Neither team was able to take advantage from that point on as both the Phoenix and Tribe went scoreless in the two 10-minute overtime periods. The 1-1 finish was the first draw of the 2018 season for the maroon and gold.
Scouting Northeastern
The Huskies come into the match at 2-5 on the season and 0-1 in the CAA after falling at James Madison, 1-0, in its league opener last Saturday, Sept. 22. Prior to facing the Dukes, Northeastern earned a 1-0 victory in double overtime against Holy Cross, 1-0, on Sept. 18, snapping a four-match losing streak.
Northeastern has scored seven goals this season with freshman Ryan Massoud providing four of those. The Huskies are being outshot by its opponents, 85-81, with the opposition also nearly doubling Northeastern in corner kicks, 51-24. All the Huskies’ goals this season have come in the second half or later. Sophomore Noah Abrams has manned the majority of the minutes in goal this season and has posted a 1.11 goals-against average with 21 saves and two shutouts.
Up Next
The Phoenix returns to the home pitch at Rudd Field to host Delaware next Wednesday, Oct. 3. That match is slated for a 7 p.m. kickoff.