ELON, N.C. – Behind a pair of goals from first-year Burl Shepherd, the Elon University men's soccer team picked up a 3-0 victory over longtime rival UNCG on Wednesday night, Sept. 25, at Rudd Field.
 
Shepherd scored the first two goals of his young career while another rookie Jalen Weatherspoon also added his first career goal to help the Phoenix (3-4-1) win its second straight at home. UNCG fell to 2-6 overall on the 2019 campaign.
 
The Rundown
Elon found itself on the scoreboard early in the match inside the 13^th minute on a sliding tap-in from Shepherd. The Highland Village, Texas, native knotted his first career goal after passes from Mattias Cooper and John Walden as Elon took a 1-0 lead.
 
Just two minutes later, Shepherd again found the back of the net to give the Phoenix a two-score lead. Shepherd intercepted a pass near the top left of the box and fired a long low strike that just curved inside the left post for a 2-0 lead for Elon.
 
Despite the lead, Elon trailed in the opening half in total shots, 5-4, with both teams combining for 10 corners as the Phoenix had a 6-4 edge in the set pieces.
 
The Phoenix continued the attack into the final 45 minutes of play, but were unable to find the back of the net until the 61^st minute. Weatherspoon played a ball off a flick from Valdimar Jonsson near the top of the 18-yard area and sent a low ball to the back left corner of the goal to make it a 3-0 lead. That would give the Phoenix the eventual 3-0 win over its former conference foe.
 
Elon finished the match with a 12-11 advantage in shots with four coming on goal. Iñigo Bronte led Elon with four shots in the match with Shepherd, Tuki Tayali and Weatherspoon each recorded two.
 
In goal, Alex Lorne recorded his second clean sheet in three starts, collecting five saves in 90 minutes of action. The win was also the 90^th for Phoenix head coach Marc Reeves in his career.
 
Up Next
Elon travels to Delaware this Saturday, Sept. 28, to look for its first three points during Colonial Athletic Association action. That match is scheduled for a 7 p.m. start.