No. 21 Elon (0-1) at No. 14 Virginia (0-0

Date | Time	Saturday, Feb. 17 | 12 p.m.
Location	Klöckner Stadium (Charlottesville, Va.)
Series Record	Series tied 1-1
Tickets	Elon at Virginia
Live Stats	Click Here
Television	ACC Network Extra
Game Notes	Elon
Twitter	@ElonWLax | @ElonPhoenix | @ElonScores

 

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ELON, N.C. – Ranked No. 21 in the country, Elon University women's lacrosse will face its second-straight ranked opponent Saturday afternoon, Feb. 17, when it visits 14th-ranked Virginia at Klöckner Stadium at 12 p.m. on ACC Network Extra.

TIME CHANGE
With inclement weather in the forecast, Saturday's game at Virginia has been moved to a 12 p.m. start time at Klöckner Stadium. The game was originally scheduled to start at 1 p.m. 

THE SERIES
The Phoenix and Cavaliers have met twice to date, all coming during the 2017 season. First, Abby Godfrey scored a free position goal with one second to play to lift the Phoenix over the Cavaliers in Elon's second game of the year on Feb. 11. The two also battled in the NCAA Tournament on May 12 with UVA winning 11-9 in Chapel Hill, N.C. Virginia led 5-2 at halftime and pushed the lead to 9-3 just over nine minutes into the second half, but Elon fought back to within two before time expired.

SCOUTING VIRGINIA
This year marks the second in a row Virginia opens its season against the Phoenix. UVA went to the second round of the NCAA Tournament last year, but fell to North Carolina in Chapel Hill, N.C. A year ago, UVA went 12-9 with a 7-3 mark at home and a 4-3 record in ACC play. The Cavaliers lost their leading scorer - Kelly Reese - from a season ago, but return Maggie Jackson and her 41 goals with 33 assists for a team-best 74 points. Rachel Vander Kolk, who started all 21 games a year ago in the cage, also returns in 2018 for her senior campaign.

LAST TIME OUT
Stephanie Asher scored a game-high five goals, but it wasn't enough as No. 20 Duke earned a 17-9 victory in Durham, N.C. on Sunday, Feb. 11. Duke took an 11-3 lead to the break after finishing the first half on a 7-1 run. Tori Cipollone took over in the cage at halftime and stopped a career-best six shots in the final 30 minutes.

NATIONAL RANKINGS
To start the season, Elon is ranked No. 21 in the IWLCA coaches poll. It marks the first time in program history the Phoenix is ranked to start a campaign. Elon also received votes in this week's Inside Lacrosse media poll. The first regular-season IWLCA poll will be released next week. 

PRESEASON HONORS
Stephanie Asher became the first player in program history to earn Preseason All-America accolades when she was named an Inside Lacrosse honorable mention in early February. The recognition came on the heels of Asher and Alexis Zadjura being named Preseason All-CAA honorees. Asher has now been a Preseason All-CAA honoree three years in a row and Zadjura was an honorable mention in 2017 before making First Team in 2018. 

ADDITIONS ABOUND
After graduating its first four-year class after the 2017 season, Elon welcomed eight new faces to the program. Of those players, four represent the state of New Jersey (Quinn Daly, Meri Curtin, Taylor Pani and Claire Smesko), three hail from New York (Mae McGlynn, Ashley Duggan and Allie Cerrone) and one from North Carolina (Lundy Fine). 

ELON ON LSN
Elon will have two of its CAA games feature on LAX Sports Network's CAA Game of the Week initiative. First, the Phoenix will visit Hofstra on Friday, April 6, on LSN before coming home to take on Towson on Friday, April 13, on the network. Additionally, the CAA Championship semifinals and finals are set to air on LSN. The 2018 season marks the second year the CAA has partnered with LSN to expand the reach of CAA lacrosse. 

2017 TIDBITS
-Three CAA teams, including Elon, went to the NCAA Tournament. It marks the most in one tourney since 2001 when James Madison, Loyola (Md.) and William & Mary all went dancing.
-Two programs - Elon and Colorado - were added prior to the start of the 2014 season. Both teams went to the NCAA Tournament in 2017 in their fourth year of competition. Elon lost to Virginia in the first round and Colorado fell 13-7 to UMass, also in the first round.
-A year ago, Elon posted a program-record 13 wins. It also made its first trip to the CAA title game after beating second-seeded Towson on a Stephanie Asher goal in overtime. Asher set the new program record for goals scored (58) and points (69). 

AGAINST NATIONALLY-RANKED FOES
Elon owns a record of 4-16 with all four of those wins coming in the last two seasons. Last year alone, it's defeated No. 13 Virginia, No. 19 Virginia Tech and No. 17 Towson. Against the ACC, Elon is 3-11 with two of those victories coming in 2017.