ELON, N.C. – Looking to make ground in the Southern Conference standings, the Elon University women's soccer team returns home for a pair of league matches this weekend. The Phoenix welcomes Wofford to Rudd Field on Friday night, Oct. 11, at 7 p.m. before hosting Furman on Sunday, Oct. 13, at 2 p.m.
Â
ELON VS. WOFFORD: Friday night marks the 13th all-time meeting between the Phoenix and Terriers. Wofford leads the series with a 6-5-1 record. Last season, the two teams battled to a scoreless draw on Oct. 5 in Spartanburg, S.C. Two seasons ago at Rudd Field, the Phoenix came away with a 2-1 decision behind two second-half scores from
Kim Gardner.
Â
ELON VS. FURMAN: Sunday marks the 15th all-time meeting between the Phoenix and Paladins. Furman leads the series with a 10-3-1 mark, but Elon has won two out of the last three meetings. Last season in Greenville, S.C., the Phoenix came away with a 2-1 victory behind a go-ahead penalty kick score from
Mel Insley in the second period.
Â
HEAD COACH CHRIS NEAL:Â
Chris Neal is in his sixth season as the Elon head women's soccer coach. Last year's Southern Conference Coach of the Year, Neal enters Friday's match with a career record of 54-31-18.
Â
LOOKING BACK: In its last match, the Phoenix posted a 6-1 victory on Oct. 6 at Francis Marion.
Marissa Russo scored twice for the maroon and gold, while
Catherine Brinkman,
Jennifer McGorty,
Nicole Dennion and
Bethany Houpt all recorded scores as well.
Â
LOOKING AHEAD: Following this weekend's matches against Wofford and Furman, Elon hits the road to face Georgia Southern (Oct. 18) and Davidson (Oct. 20).
Â
SCOUTING WOFFORD: Wofford enters Friday's match with a 6-3-1 record, including a 2-1 mark in league play. The Terriers posted a 5-1 win against Chattanooga on Oct. 6 following a 2-1 loss at Samford on Oct. 3. Chloe Brackett and Maureen Buff lead Wofford with five goals and one assist this season.
Â
SCOUTING FURMAN: The high-scoring Paladins enter this weekend unbeaten in SoCon play at 3-0. Furman opened league play with a 7-0 win against The Citadel on Sept. 27 and haven't looked back. Furman also posted a 9-0 decision against Chattanooga on Oct. 3 before claiming a 2-1 win versus Samford on Oct. 6. Stephanie DeVita leads the team with nine goals and five assists this season, totaling 23 points (first in SoCon). In addition, India Robinson leads the league with 12 assists this season.
Â
GETTING OFFENSIVE: Sunday's match against Furman features the SoCon's top two leading scorers in Stephanie DeVita and Phoenix sophomore
Nicole Dennion. DeVita leads the league in goals (9) and points (23), while Dennion ranks second in goals (8) and points (20).
Â
-- ELON --
