Box Score

RICHMOND, Va. – The Elon Phoenix battled out a 1-1 tie against the Virginia Commonwealth Rams in non-conference women’s soccer action on Sunday afternoon. Elon sophomore keeper Kristen Haney made a career-high eight saves as the Phoenix moved to 5-2-1 on the season heading into Southern Conference action. VCU moved to 4-2-2 overall.

“I am extremely proud of our team and their ability to bounce back to get a great result on the road against a very good VCU team,” Elon head coach Chris Neal said. “Kristen did a good job for us in the net, handling crosses well especially in the second half.”

In a very physical battle, neither team was able to put together too much offense until late in the first half. Elon saw a Chelsey Stark shot ricochet off the cross bar and a Catherine Brinkman shot sail past the goal. In the 31st minute, the Rams finally managed to get on the board.

Aisha Allen sent a pass forward to Breiana White who slid her first goal of the year into the right corner of the net to give the home team a 1-0 advantage that it held through the end of the first half.

Elon came out of the break aggressive on the offensive side, forcing VCU goalie Megan Lynch to knock down four shots in the early minutes. Finally, Elon’s pressure forced a VCU mistake when miscommunication off a header led to an own goal for the Phoenix and a 1-1 tie at 62:12.

The Rams had four shots compared to only one by Elon in the extra sessions, but Haney was on top of her game and helped to preserve the draw for the Phoenix.

Elon begins SoCon play next weekend with a road swing at Samford and Chattanooga. The Phoenix and the Bulldogs will do battle on Friday night at 8 p.m. (EST).