WILLIAMSBURG, Va. – A pair of goals in the opening half by Jack Dolk and Scott Vatne helped the Elon University men's soccer team to a 2-1 victory at William & Mary on Saturday night, Nov. 6. The win also clinches the Phoenix a berth for the Colonial Athletic Association for the first time since 2017.
 
Elon concluded the regular season with an 8-7-2 record and a 4-2-2 mark in the CAA, clinching the No. 3 seed for the upcoming league championships. William & Mary finishes its year at 7-7 and 4-4 during league play.
 
"The CAA is a great conference, so finishing as the No. 3 seed and making the tournament is a fantastic achievement," said Elon head coach Marc Reeves. "The guys have worked hard all year and fully deserve this reward and next opportunity. Getting the needed win tonight on the road against a very good William & Mary side shows our group's togetherness and resilience that has been there all year. I am really happy for this group and we will now prepare again to be ready for the semifinal round."
 
The Rundown
The Phoenix had the first shot on goal of the match inside the sixth minute as Kasper Lehm had an attempt from the left side that was deflected by the keeper out of play for a corner kick. Elon could not capitalize off the set piece and was eventually whistled for a foul.
 
Just under 10 minutes later, William & Mary had its first shot on target as Devin McCarthy found himself free against the keeper one-on-one in the 15^th minute. Elon's defense was able to recover and forced McCarthy to take a contested shot that was easily corralled by Peter Wentzel.
 
Elon scored the first points of the match in the 26^th minute. A through ball from Vatne near midfield found a streaking Dolk just inside the right side of the box as the sophomore was able to beat the keeper to the ball for his third goal of the year and a 1-0 Phoenix lead.
 
The Phoenix doubled its lead just before the half inside the 41^st minute. Petro Klishch drew a foul inside the box to award Elon a penalty kick, with Vatne taking the assignment. The freshman was able to slot the ball past William & Mary's keeper Connor Andrews to put the maroon and gold ahead 2-0.
 
Elon went into the break with a 5-3 advantage in shots and a 2-1 lead in corner kicks. The Phoenix also played six players off the bench in the opening stanza.
 
William & Mary broke the shutout early in the second half. Alexander Levengood scored his seventh goal of the season in the 49^th minute to trim the Tribe's deficit to one, 2-1.
 
The Tribe continued to push numbers up forward to find the equalizer, getting another look on goal in the 62^nd minute from Nathan Messer. The midfielder sent a cross from the left side that curved towards the goal in which Wentzel had to deflect just off the post to keep the match a one-score game.
 
The Tribe had one more shot on goal for the remainder of the match as Elon was able to settle defensively. Daniel Salom pushed an attempt towards Wentzel in the 73^rd minute, but the redshirt junior made his third stop of the night. The Phoenix would allow two more shots to the Tribe, but none of them were on target, as the Phoenix held on for the 2-1 win.
 
Notes
• William & Mary won the shot battle over the Phoenix, 11-7, overall and had a slight 4-3 advantage in shots on target. Both teams combined for five corners with Elon winning 3-2 in that category.
• The Tribe still leads the overall series 7-4-2, but the Phoenix has won the past two contests. The victory was also Elon's first at William & Mary since 2012.
• Vatne led the Phoenix with a game-high three shots on the night.
 
Up Next
Elon will be the No. 3 seed for the CAA Tournament, which will be hosted at Hofstra. The semifinal round takes place on Thursday, Nov. 11 as the Phoenix will face No. 2 seed Northeastern. That match is set for a 7:30 kickoff.