Elon 3, Presbyterian 0 Hilton Garden Inn Classic // Wilmington, N.C.

Elon head coach Darren Powell and sophomore James Brace talk about the Phoenix's 3-0 win over Presbyterian.

WILMINGTON, N.C. – Sophomore James Brace recorded his first multi-goal game to lead the Elon men's soccer team to a 3-0 victory over Presbyterian on Sunday, Sept. 8, to conclude the Hilton Garden Inn Classic, hosted by UNCW.
 
The Phoenix (3-0-1) went unbeaten over the weekend to earn the tournament championship with its win over the Blue Hose (2-1-0). Elon also extended its regular-season unbeaten streak to eight matches and 11 out of 12 games overall dating back to last season.

Charles Howard was named the tournament's Offensive MVP and was joined on the All-Tournament team by Miguel Salazar, Nathan Dean and Myles Mansfield.
 
Elon held a 12-3 shot advantage over Presbyterian throughout the match and had a 8-2 gain in corners.
 
Brace entered today's match with one career goal, which he scored on Friday, Sept. 6, in the Phoenix's 3-2 double-overtime victory against Mercer in the opening game of the tournament. The Hartlepool, England, native put a shot in the back of the net after receiving a cross from Jason Waterman in the seventh minute, but Elon was called offside. A minute later, Brace received a feed from Waterman on the left side of the box and chipped in the easy goal to give Elon an early 1-0 lead.
 
At the 17^th minute, Elon scored its second goal of the match as Cauê Da Silva took a pass from Salazar down the middle and fired a laser past the Presbyterian keeper for a 2-0 lead.
 
Three minutes later, Waterman took a pass from Brace in the box and drew a penalty against the Blue Hose's keeper. Brace converted the following penalty-kick and Elon took a commanding 3-0 lead at the 20^th minute.
 
The maroon and gold dominated the opening 45 minutes from start to finish, outshooting the Blue Hose 8-1 while holding a slim 1-0 advantage in corners.
 
The story was more of the same in the second half as Elon withheld Presbyterian from making any threat and the match ended 3-0. Dean earned his 11^th career shutout, moving into sole possession of fourth place all-time on the program's career list.
 
Elon returns to the pitch for its home opener on Saturday, Sept. 14, to host UNCW at Rudd Field. That match is slated for a 7 p.m. start.