ELON, N.C. – In its final Colonial Athletic Association match at home, the Elon University men's soccer team hosts College of Charleston on Saturday, Oct. 22. Kickoff of the match is set for 1 p.m. at Rudd Field.
 
HOW TO FOLLOW
• Saturday's match will be streamed live on FloFC via a paid subscription.
• Links for the broadcast and live stats can be found on the Elon men's soccer schedule page at elonphoenix.com.
• Other in-game updates will be provided on Twitter by following @ElonMSoccer.
 
MATCH PROMOTION
• Saturday's contest will serve as Senior Day with the program honoring its graduating senior class of Mason Duval, Vemund Hole Vik, Jeppe Jordoson, Kasper Lehm, Cam Pelle, Marco Vesterholm and Jannik Videbaek.
 
THE MATCHUP
• The Phoenix and the Cougars will match up on the soccer pitch for the 25^th time on Saturday with Charleston holding a 12-10-2 advantage all-time in the series.
• Elon has won three straight against the Cougars spanning back to 2019. The Phoenix is also unbeaten against CofC in seven consecutive regular season matches, a streak that stretches back to the 2014 season.
• In last season's matchup, the Phoenix came away with a 1-0 victory at College of Charleston.
 
CAA TITLE RACE
• The Phoenix currently leads the CAA standings going into the weekend at 5-1-1 and is two points ahead of second-place UNCW.
• Elon clinched a berth to the CAA Tournament after earning a 3-1 victory at defending league champion Hofstra last Saturday. UNCW and Hofstra also punched their tickets to the league championships last weekend.
• A victory on Saturday over the Cougars along with a loss or draw by UNCW will reward Elon with the top seed for the CAA Tournament. A Phoenix win and a loss or draw by both UNCW and Hofstra clinch the Phoenix the outright regular-season title and first conference championship of any kind since 2015.
 
LAST TIME OUT
• A brace by Jack Dolk along with the Phoenix's ninth shutout of the season aided Elon to a 3-0 victory over in-state and ACC foe North Carolina on Tuesday.
• The win was the Phoenix's first-ever in the series against the Tar Heels. Going into the match, Elon was 0-14-1 all-time against UNC.
• Mason Duval put the Phoenix on the board first with his team-best sixth goal of season in the 28^th minute. The George Town, Cayman Islands, native scored off a through ball from Michael Clow.
• In the 80th minute, Dolk joined Duval in the scoring column to double the Phoenix's lead. The Stockholm, Sweden, native headed in a cross from Scott Vatne that snuck inside the post for his first goal of the year and put Elon in front 2-0.
• A couple of minutes later, Dolk would earn the brace to fully secure the Phoenix win. Vemund Hole Vik sent a through ball to Vatne, who drew the defense in the box near the six-yard area. The Klepp, Norway, native laid the ball off to Dolk, who one-touched it past the keeper to deflect it off the right post and into the goal.
• The win was the Phoenix's first against an ACC opponent since defeating Duke 3-2 in 2019 at Rudd Field. The setback was also North Carolina's largest regular-season nonconference defeat since losing to Akron 3-0 in 2010.
 
VANTE EARNS WEEKLY HONORS
• Based on his performance last Saturday at Hofstra, Vatne was named the CAA Offensive Player of the Week on Monday.
• The sophomore contributed in two of the Phoenix's three goals in the match, adding an assist in Elon's second score against the Pride while also scoring his third goal of the season.
• Vatne also earned recognition on Top Drawer Soccer's Team of the Week on Tuesday earning honorable mention.
 
DOMINANT DEFENSE
• The Elon defense has posted nine clean sheets through its 14 games, tied for best in the country. The Phoenix also ranks in the top-five of the nation in shutout percentage (4^th, .643) and goals-against average (5^th, .0.54).
• The Phoenix's nine shutouts ties for the second-most for the program in a single season.
• Netminder Ryan Bilichuk is tied for the NCAA-lead in shutouts with nine and is fourth in the country in GAA at 0.50. The Greenville, S.C., native is second in the CAA in save percentage at .811.
• Bilichuk also moved into the program's top-10 career records in shutouts. He is just one shutout away from tying the program's single-season clean sheet record held by Clint Irwin '11 and Matthew Jegier '18.
 
OPENING STANZA
• The Phoenix continues its best start since 2016 at 9-3-2 overall. At 5-1-1 and tied atop the league standings, Elon is searching for its first CAA title since 2015 when it co-shared with Hofstra.
• Elon is 33^rd in the latest RPI report and was second in the Atlantic Regional rankings.
• The Phoenix holds an overall 154-122 advantage in shots over the opposition. Elon also has a 68-38 advantage in shots on goal, hitting the target at a .442 percent clip.
• Duval leads the Phoenix in points (12) and goals (six). Overall, Elon has recorded 22 goals from 12 unique scorers this season.
• The Phoenix is coming off a 9-8-2 ledger during the 2021 fall season and advanced to the CAA Championship final for the first time in school history.
• Elon returns 21 players and seven starters in 2022 including All-CAA performers Kasper Lehm and Jannik Videbaek. The maroon and gold also welcomes back a pair of CAA All-Rookie team players in Calle Edelstam and Scott Vatne.
• Both Lehm and Videbaek were selected to the 2022 Preseason All-CAA team. The Phoenix as a team was tabbed third by the league's head coaches in the 2022 CAA Preseason Poll.
• Three players will don the captain armband for the Phoenix this season. Videbaek joins returning captains Jeppe Jordoson and Marco Vesterholm as the team captains for the 2022 season.
• Elon welcomes eight newcomers to its roster for 2022 – Gustavo Atencio, Ryan Bilichuk, Michael Clow, Myson Darden, Carlos Levy, Majaliwa Msabaha, Sumner Nenninger and Franc Gamiz Quer.
• Marc Reeves is in his sixth season as the head coach of the Phoenix. Through his 12 seasons overall as a head coach, Reeves has posted a career record of 115-81-35 with 40 of those victories coming at Elon.
 
SCOUTING COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON
• The Cougars are 5-5-4 on the season and 3-2-2 in the CAA, which is tied for fourth in the league. CofC is coming off a 1-0 setback to Winthrop on Tuesday in its most recent contest.
• Charleston has scored 16 goals on the season and is averaging 11.0 shots per contest. Freshman striker Chris Elliott leads the Cougars in goals with seven while redshirt freshman Leonardo D'Ambrosio is second on the team in points with 11 (three goals, five assists).
• In goal, Olly Marshall has seen the most time this season for the Cougars. The Newcastle, England, native has a GAA of 1.30 on the year with three shutouts and 35 saves.