ELON, N.C. – The No. 21 Elon men's soccer team is set to begin defense of its Southern Conference regular-season title this Saturday, Oct. 5, in its league opener against Appalachian State. Kick off is scheduled for 7 p.m. at Rudd Field.
Phoenix All-Access
The match will be streamed live online free of charge through Elon's new broadband channel, Phoenix All-Access. The channel offers fans exclusive high definition (HD) Elon Athletics video content and gives Phoenix fans anywhere in the world the opportunity to stay in touch with Elon Athletics.
Follow the Phoenix
In addition, fans can follow the match through live stats from elonphoenix.com on the men's soccer schedule page. Live updates will also be provided on Twitter at the handle
@ElonScores and
@ElonMensSoccer. WSOE will provide live audio of the match with Matt Krause (play-by-play) and Rajat Agarwal (color) on the call.
Pink Day
Saturday's match will also be Pink Day as the Phoenix along with the Little Pink Houses of Hope will help raise funds and awareness for breast cancer with stations outside of Rudd Field.
Poll Position
The Phoenix enters Saturday's match currently ranked No. 21 in the latest National Soccer Coaches Association of American (NSCAA) poll. Elon is also ranked No. 21 by College Soccer News and sits at No. 20 in the College Soccer America rankings.
Elon was placed at No. 24 in the first NCAA RPI report, which was released on Monday, Sept. 30.
Series History
Saturday's match will mark the 16
th meeting between the two programs in a series that dates back to 1997. The Mountaineers have a slight lead in the series with a 7-6-2 mark, but the Phoenix won the most recent contest last season, 1-0, on a Gabe Latigue game-winner in Boone, N.C.
Last Time Out
The Phoenix pulled out a 1-0 win at Campbell on Tuesday, Oct. 1. Senior
Matt Wescoe provided the lone goal of the contest in the 49
th minute and
Nathan Dean made six saves for his third clean sheet of the season and the fourth overall for Elon.
Scouting Elon
Elon (8-1-1) has won three straight matches, including two consecutive on the road, since suffering its first loss of the season against William & Mary on Sept. 20. The maroon and gold has also posted shutouts in two of those victories versus Radford (Sept. 25) and at Campbell (Oct. 1) while having its highest scoring output of the year with a 4-1 win at High Point (Sept. 28).
Junior forward
Jason Waterman had two goals in the contest against High Point and an assist on Wescoe's goal at Campbell. The Bloomington, Ind., native currently paces the Phoenix offensively with 16 points (team-best six goals, four assists) while Wescoe is second with 11 and has team-high five assists on the season.
Dean recorded his 13
th career shutout on Tuesday, two shy of tying former Elon keeper and current assistant coach
Taylor Saxe for third place in school history. The Liverpool, England, native was tabbed as the SoCon's Men's Soccer Player of the Week on Sept. 24, and league's Student-Athlete of the Week on Sept. 25.
Under head coach
Darren Powell, the Phoenix has a record of 6-1-1 in SoCon openers with the lone loss coming to the Mountaineers in 2011. The ninth-year coach picked up career win No. 87 at Elon, seven shy of passing Steve Ballard for the most all-time in program history.
Scouting Appalachian State
The Mountaineers are 2-1-6 on the season and are unbeaten in their last four matches. ASU battled No. 17 Furman to a 1-1 draw on Sunday, Sept. 29, in its most recent contest.
Stanley Broaden leads the Mountaineers in scoring with 10 points and has a team-best four goals this season. Keeper Danny Free has started all nine matches this year for ASU and has a 1.04 GAA to go with 33 saves.
On the Horizon
Elon returns back on the road for a rematch of the 2012 SoCon Tournament Championship match at Wofford on Oct. 12. That game is slated for a 7 p.m. start.
-- ELON --
