ELON, N.C. – Rookie forward Jaiden Fortune's two goals fueled the Elon University men's soccer team to its best start in school history as the Phoenix earned a 4-0 victory over in-state rival Davidson in its home opener at Rudd Field on Saturday night, Sept. 12.

Elon is now 5-0 for the first time ever in program history while handing the Wildcats (2-1-1) its first loss of the young season. This is also the third out of five games that Elon has scored four or more goals after only having one game with such accomplishment all of last season.

"I was very delighted with our effort tonight," said Elon head coach Chris Little. "I thought the crowd tonight was excellent and they gave the players a lift. The atmosphere was excellent and I thought that was our best performance so far on the season."

The Rundown
Elon broke open a very tightly contested match in the 36^th minute with Fortune's first goal. The Bedford, England, native played a through ball from midfield from Eduardo Alvarez and fought off his defender to bury the shot past the Wildcats' keeper for a 1-0 Phoenix lead.

The Phoenix struck again three minutes later as Nathan Diehl netted his second score of the season off a Miguel Salazar free kick from about 15 yards out. Salazar first try was blocked by the Davidson defense, but Salazar caught the ricochet and fired another shot towards the goal which was deflected again, but Diehl pushed the carom past the defense and gave Elon a 2-0 advantage.

Fortune answered again in the 50^th minute as he played the ball near the right side of the box off a couple of touch passes from James Brace and Myles Mansfield and put the maroon and gold up 3-0.

The Phoenix sealed the victory with a late goal in the 89^th minute from sophomore Elijah Agu. The Cary, N.C., native took a pass from rookie Billy Beresford at the top of the penalty box and beat the keeper to net the final score of 4-0.
 
Match Notes
• Elon has scored 16 goals in its five games this season after only netting 22 goals in 19 games last season.
• The Phoenix won the shot battle, 19-8, while also having a huge advantage in shots on target, 9-1.
• The Phoenix also had a slight edge in corners, 6-5.
• Fortune joins Brace as the only players with multi-goal games this year for the Phoenix. Brace also had two goals in the Phoenix's 5-2 win over North Florida on Sept. 6.
• Fortune nearly had a hat trick in the 64^th minute with a try hitting the right post,
• This is the Phoenix's fourth clean sheet in its five games as the maroon and gold is outscoring opponents, 16-2.

Up Next
Elon travels to Winston-Salem, N.C., to take on 14^th-ranked Wake Forest on Tuesday, Sept. 15. That match is slated for a 7 p.m. kickoff.