ELON, N.C. – Junior Carson Jones scored the lone goal of the game in the 52^nd minute, leading Elon University women's soccer to a 1-0 victory in its second match of the regular season on Sunday night, Aug. 25, against High Point.
 
"It was a good performance from the girls tonight. It's definitely nice to start the season 2-0," head coach Neil Payne said. "We said the first day of preseason that we needed to set the tone right away. Equally, on the first weekend we needed to set the tone as well. So, we're 2-0, we're unbeaten, and we haven't conceded a goal in the season so far, which makes four games now without conceding a goal. That's a massive stride for this group, and we just continue to get better and better every game."
 
The Phoenix moved to 2-0 overall, earning back-to-back victories for the first time since the 2017 season. With the loss, High Point moved to 0-2 on the season.
 
HIGHLIGHTS
The first half was tightly contested on both sides, with both teams earning several opportunities to get on the board first. Elon applied the pressure early on, recording two shots within 30 seconds of each other. Despite the attempts, neither Kayla Hodges nor Sarah Bevington's shots found the back of the net.
 
In the 15^th minute of action, High Point's Skyler Prillaman nearly broke the 0-0 tie, but Elon keeper Katrin Hauksdottir made a tremendous save to keep the Panthers off the board. A few moments later, in the 22^nd minute, Jessica Carrieri attempted back-to-back shots but both were blocked.
 
Elon came out of the gates firing in the second half, as Carrieri forced a High Point save just over two minutes into the final 45.
 
Moments later, off an assist from Makenzie DePriest-Kessler, Carson Jones lasered a goal into the bottom left corner of the Panthers net. Her shot from just inside the 18-yard box was just out of the reach of Talia Klimes, finding the back of the net to secure a 1-0 Elon lead. The goal marked her first of the season.
 
Elon's defense took control late in the second half, only allowing two shots in the final 30 minutes of play. The Phoenix have maintained strong play on defense throughout the early parts of the season, shutting out each opponent its faced through four games (including preseason).
 
In the match, the Phoenix outshot the Panthers 15-8, including a 5-1 advantage in shots on goal, and a 7-5 advantage in corner kicks. In goal for Elon, Hauksdottir made one save on the way to picking up her second clean sheet in two games this season.
 
UP NEXT
The Phoenix travels to Radford, Va. for its first road contest of the season against the Highlanders at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Aug. 29.