Elon WLAX Travels to SC for First Road Game of Season

ELON, N.C. – The Elon women’s lacrosse team (2-0) hits the road for the first time in 2016, traveling to Conway, S.C., to take on Coastal Carolina on Friday, Feb. 19, in a 3 p.m. game at Brooks Stadium.

Last Time Out

Elon started the season 2-0 for the first time in program history last weekend, claiming wins over San Diego State, 11-7, and Longwood, 15-8, at Rudd Field. The Phoenix outshot its opponents, 68-31, and claimed the advantage in ground balls, 47-25, draws, 28-18, and caused turnovers, 15-11. Stephanie Asher led the team with 10 points on the weekend after a team-high eight goals and two assists, while also recording six ground balls, four draw controls and one caused turnover. Sloane Kessler also posted 10 points after seven goals and a team-high three assists in the two games. Newcomers Shelby Scanlin and Maeve Cowley each posted three goals, while Nicole Sinacori tallied two scores. On defense, Rachel Ramirez recorded 11 saves as she played all 120 minutes between the posts for the maroon and gold, earning a 2-0 record, and led the team with nine ground balls and four caused turnovers.

The Opposition

Friday marks Coastal’s first game of the season after posting an 11-6 record in 2015. The Chanticleers were selected to finish third out of nine teams in the Big South this season by the league’s head coaches, marking the program’s highest preseason selection. Senior defender Maddy Ciardi was named the Big South Preseason Defensive Player of the Year, while attack Keri White joined her on the preseason all-conference team. Overall, the Chants return 25 players from last year, including four who finished with double digits in goals in 2015.

The Series

Elon and Coastal Carolina have played each year of the existence of the Phoenix program. The two first met in South Carolina March 8, 2014, with Elon claiming a close 12-10 victory. The Phoenix moved to a 2-0 advantage in the series after an 11-6 win at Rhodes Stadium on March 6, 2015.

Weekly Honors

The first Colonial Athletic Association women’s lacrosse weekly awards of the 2016 season were announced on Feb. 16 with Elon’s Stephanie Asher being named the CAA Player of the Week and Rachel Ramirez earning CAA Defensive Player of the Week honors. Asher led Elon to a 2-0 start after recording eight goals and two assists for a total of 10 points in two games last week. The sophomore took 21 total shots, 18 of which were on goal, to finish with an 85.7 shot-on-goal percentage. The Glenelg, Md., native also picked up six ground balls, won four draw controls and had one caused turnover. Ramirez tallied two wins between the pipes for the Phoenix in the wins over SDSU and Longwood. The junior played all 120 minutes in goal for Elon, tallying 11 saves on 31 shots faced to post a 42.3 save percentage. Ramirez led the team with nine ground balls and four caused turnovers.

Next Up

The Phoenix continues a three-game road swing with its next game on Thursday, Feb. 25, in Durham, N.C., to take on No. 5 Duke. The game is set for 4 p.m. in Koskinen Stadium.