ELON, N.C. – Unbeaten in its last five matches and winners of its last four, the Elon University men’s soccer team will host James Madison in the Phoenix’s final regular-season home match at Rudd Field on Sunday, Oct. 26, at 1 p.m.
The maroon and gold will salute its five-man senior class of Tommy Allen, Eliot Browarsky, Nathan Dean, Austin Dunker and Jason Waterman prior to kickoff. The quintet has been a part of three conference championships, three NCAA Tournament appearances and a Division I school-record tying 47 wins as a class.
Follow the Phoenix
Fans can follow the Phoenix on Sunday and throughout the season 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 be streamed online free of charge on Elon’s Phoenix All-Access channel with John Roddey (play-by-play) and Connor Cummings (color) on the call. In-game updates will also be provided on Twitter at @elonscores or the program’s handle @elonmenssoccer.
Series History
Sunday’s matchup will be the first-ever meeting between the two programs on the soccer pitch. This will be the sixth time so far this season that the Phoenix has faced an opponent for the first time and the third first-time opponent that Elon has played at home.
Last Time Out
On Tuesday, Oct. 21, the Phoenix earned a 2-1 victory over in-state rival Duke at Rudd Field in the program’s first-ever victory over the Blue Devils. Miguel Salazar netted his third goal and second game-winning score of the season in the 61st minute to increase Elon’s win streak to four games and its unbeaten streak to five. The victory also upped Elon’s record to 5-2-4 against Atlantic Coast Conference schools since 2010.
About Elon (8-4-3, 3-1-1 CAA)
The Phoenix is currently second in the Colonial Athletic Association standings, trailing just Hofstra, who improved to 4-1 in league play on Wednesday with a victory over Drexel. Since suffering a setback to the Pride in its league-opener, the maroon and gold has been unbeaten in its last four CAA matches.
Elon sits at No. 34 in the latest NCAA RPI report, improving 14 spots from last week’s rankings. The Phoenix has played nine teams so far this season that are among the top 70 in RPI, including three in the top 35. JMU is No. 106 in the RPI this week.
Defensively, Elon is still among the top units in the league. The backline defense of Dean, Dunker, juniors Nathan Diehl and Samuel McBride and freshman Jonathan Coleby have allowed the fewest goals in the CAA (12) while also pacing the conference in goals against average (0.76) and shutouts (eight).
Elon ranks in the middle of the pack in a number of offensive categories in the CAA overall, but during league play the Phoenix ranks first in points (5.20), goals (nine), assists (eight), assists per game (1.60) and is second in shots (71) and goals per match (1.80).
Scouting James Madison (6-6-3, 2-2-1 CAA)
The Dukes, under 29th-year head coach Tom Martin, shutout College of Charleston on Wednesday, 2-0, in their latest contest. JMU sits sixth in the league standings tied with William & Mary.
Three players are tied for the team-lead in goals for the Dukes with Josh Grant, Connor Coward and Joe Vynar all contributing with three each. Connor and Grant also pace the squad in assists along with Jonathan Barden with two.
Kyle Morton has played every minute between the posts this season for the Dukes, posting 1.18 goals against average while making 59 saves.
Up Next
Elon travels to College of Charleston on Wednesday, Oct. 29, in a matchup between a pair of old Southern Conference foes. Kickoff begins at 7 p.m.