ELON, N.C. – A goal by redshirt freshman
Sam Durand late in the first half helped the Elon University men's soccer team to a 1-0 victory over intrastate foe Campbell on Wednesday night, Sept. 29, at Rudd Field.
The Phoenix (5-4) avenged its loss to Campbell (6-3-1) from this past spring season with its 11
th series win over the Camels. The win also snapped Campbell's three-game win streak heading into the matchup.
The Rundown
Coming into the contest as one of the top-scoring teams in the nation, Campbell wasted no time putting pressure on the Phoenix in the opening half. The Camels fired four shots on the Phoenix defense in the first 20 minutes, but only Tyler Young's attempt in the fourth minute was on frame.
Inside the 28
th minute however, the momentum would shift towards Elon's favor. After a shot by Young was blocked by the maroon and gold defense, Elon raced towards its offensive third on the counter. A tackle in the open field by Campbell's Owen Mikoy led to a red card to put the Phoenix up a man for the remainder of the match.
Elon had a couple of chances inside the 30
th minute as
Victor Stromsten took a shot inside the box that was blocked by the Camels.
Jannik Videbaek was able to corral a rebound attempt that was knocked away by Campbell's keeper Edu Rodriguez.
The Phoenix broke the scoring stalemate with just two minutes left in the opening stanza.
Jake Kelly sent in a cross into the box from the right side, finding Durand who was able to get enough on the header to push it past Rodriguez who deflected it off the right post into the back of the net for his first career goal.
Elon went into the locker room with a 6-5 advantage on shots with four of those coming on goal. The Phoenix also took a slight 2-1 lead in corner kicks.
The Phoenix held Campbell to two shots on goal in the final 45 minutes of action as the Camel fought to find the equalizer with a man down. Elon had five total shots in the second half – three on goal – but its one-goal lead was enough to give the Phoenix the 1-0 victory.
Notes
• Elon finished the match winning the shot battle, 11-8, with seven shots on goal, which ties for a single-game high for the Phoenix this season.
• Durand led the Phoenix with his three shots in his 27 minutes of action off the bench. Stromsten had two shots for Elon.
• The Phoenix played 19 players in the match with every player seeing at least 17 minutes on the pitch.
•
Peter Wentzel recorded his fourth shutout of the season after making three saves in between the posts for Elon. His counterpart Rodriguez had six saves in the contest.
Up Next
Elon heads to Philadelphia for its next match at Drexel for a Colonial Athletic Association contest on Saturday, Oct. 2. That game is scheduled for a 1 p.m. start time.
-- ELON --
