ELON, N.C. — Fresh off a dramatic 2-1 win at the College of Charleston on Sunday, the Elon women's soccer team begins its final regular-season homestand Thursday against Hampton. Kickoff is slated for 7 p.m. at Rudd Field.
 
Sitting at 7-5-2 overall and 3-3 in CAA play, the Phoenix is tied for fifth in the conference with nine points. The Pirates (2-11, 0-6) are the only CAA team that has yet to pick up a point.

COVERAGE

• Live stats can be found here.
• The match can be streamed on FloSports.

SERIES HISTORY VS. HAMPTON

• Elon is 1-0 all-time against Hampton.
• The Phoenix beat the Pirates, 8-0, on Sept. 15, 2019, in Hampton, Va. The eight goals are tied for the fifth most in a single game in Elon history.

LAST TIME OUT

• Molly Mahoney scored the game-winning goal in the 84th minute as the Phoenix capped its season-long four-match road swing with a gritty 2-1 victory at Charleston.
• Kennedy Jones got the scoring started with her free-kick goal in the 49th minute. After the Cougars tied the game at 1 in the 81st, Elon quickly answered as Beky Myers found Mahoney for the go-ahead score.
• All of Mahoney's four career goals — including her three this season — have been game-winners.
• Myers' assist on Mahoney's game-winner extended her team lead to four and matched her career total entering this season.
• McKenna Dalfonso's five saves were her most since posting six against Hofstra on Oct. 24, 2021.

ON THE ATTACK

• Elon's 23 goals are its most through 14 matches since opening the 2019 season with 34. That stretch included an eight-goal effort against Hampton.
• The Phoenix scored 21 goals all last season.
• Through Thursday's games, Elon ranked in the top 100 nationally in shot accuracy (50%, 69th), corner kicks per game (5.43, 74th), total goals (23, 82nd), goals per game (1.64, 96th) and total points (62, 98th).
• Eight players (Ashlee Brehio, Rachel Buckle, Jessica Carrieri, Abby Fusca, Bethany Harford, Kennedy Jones, Molly Mahoney and Isa Murdock) have scored, with Brehio leading the way with five goals. The Phoenix has also benefitted from two own goals.
• Brehio's five goals are the most by an Elon freshman since Carrieri scored nine in 2019, earning a spot on the All-CAA third team and the all-rookie team.
• The freshman trio of Brehio, Buckle and Murdock has played a key role in Elon's success, combining for 19 (seven goals and five assists) of the Phoenix's 42 points over the last 10 matches. They tallied four points (two goals) in Elon's first four matches.
• The Phoenix entered the year looking to replace 66.7 percent (14-of-21) of its goals from last season, including its top scorer in Carson Jones (six goals).

BEKY'S BIG WEEK

• Senior co-captain Beky Myers anchored the Elon defense as it posted shutouts against Northeastern and Monmouth on Sept. 22 and 25. For her efforts, she was named the CAA Defensive Player of the Week and earned an honorable mention spot on the TopDrawerSoccer.com National Team of the Week.
• Myers notched an assist while playing all 90 minutes in Elon's 2-0 victory over Northeastern.
• Myers followed that effort with another stellar performance in a 1-0 win over Monmouth, playing 79 minutes as the Phoenix handed the Hawks their second loss and first shutout in 10 games.
• On the year, Myers has played 1,122 minutes while starting all 14 games. Her four assists lead the team and equal her total over her first three seasons.

FABULOUS FUSCA

• Sunday's match against Charleston marked the 77th of Abby Fusca's career, moving her into a four-way tie for the 10th most among field players in program history. Claire O'Keeffe (2009-12) and Chelsey Stark (2010-13) hold the record of 82.
• Fusca's 70 starts are also the seventh most by a Phoenix field player since the statistic started being tracked in 1992.
• The fifth-year defender/midfielder has been sensational this season, posting career highs in goals (three), points (eight), shots (20) and shots on goal (11) while averaging 80.3 minutes.

DOMINANT DALFONSO

• With five shutouts this season, McKenna Dalfonso is up to 17 for her career, tied with Tracy Shuford (1990-93) for the fourth most in school history. Heather Kline holds the record of 20, set from 1988-91.
• Dalfonso's five shutouts this season are tied for the 60th most in the country.
• Dalfonso's 1.16 career goals against average is the sixth best in Elon history (min. 25 games).
• Dalfonso has logged 3,645 career minutes, the sixth most by a Phoenix goalkeeper since the statistic started being tracked in 1988. She's also tied for fifth among goalkeepers in games started (statistic kept since 1992) and ninth in games played at 40.
• Katrin Hauksdottir drew the start in goal for Elon's Senior Day match against Longwood on Sept. 11. It marked the first time a goalkeeper not named Dalfonso started for the Phoenix since she arrived on campus before the spring 2021 season, a span of 33 matches.

CONSISTENT KENNEDY

• Midfielder Kennedy Jones has played 1,221 of 1,260 possible minutes (96.9%) this season. She's averaged 87.2 per match and gone the full 90 in eight of the last 11.
• This comes after she played 688 minutes over 16 matches (43 per game) as a true freshman last season.
• Said head coach Neil Payne: "As a staff, we've been really impressed with Kennedy because we've asked her to adjust her game over the last year or so, and she's bought into that. You can see the positive changes within her game that are allowing her to play to such a high standard. We've been very impressed with how she's adapted."

PRESEASON CAA POLL & ALL-CAA TEAM

• Elon was picked to finish sixth in the 2022 CAA Preseason Poll. UNCW was selected as the conference's preseason favorite, collecting seven of 12 first-place votes.
• Midfielder Abby Fusca and defender Katie Lowe earned preseason honorable mention All-CAA honors.
• Fusca started all 16 matches she appeared in last season and finished fifth on the team in total points and tied for the team lead in assists with three. The Vienna, Va., native was second on the squad in shots on goal and manned 1,469 minutes on the pitch – third most among Elon returners.
• Lowe tied Fusca in the team lead in assists with three and started all 17 games on the backline for the Phoenix last fall. The Charlotte, N.C., native played 1,546 minutes last year, the most among returning position players. Lowe also received preseason honorable mention All-CAA recognition last season.

SCOUTING HAMPTON

• The Pirates — who joined the CAA in July — are 2-11 overall and 0-6 in league play.
• Hampton was picked to finish 12th in the CAA Preseason Poll.
• The Pirates were 1-13-1 overall and 0-9-1 in Big South play last season.
• Hampton is led by Maya Martir (three goals and two assists) and Nyle Nwainokpor (four goals), who are tied for the team lead with eight points. Nwainokpor hasn't played since Sept. 10.  

UP NEXT

• Elon will host William & Mary in its final regular-season home game Sunday at Rudd Field. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m.