ELON, N.C. – The Elon University men's soccer team hosts No. 9 Marshall in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament at Rudd Field on Thursday, Nov. 17. Kickoff is slated for 6 p.m.
 
HOW TO FOLLOW
• Thursday's match will be streamed live on ESPN+ 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.
 
TICKET/PARKING INFORMATION
• The Elon Athletics Department announced ticket pricing information for the first-round match-up at Rudd Field. Tickets went on sale for $10 beginning Tuesday morning in-person ONLY at the Elon Ticket Office at Schar Center. The Elon Ticket Office will be open from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m. Tuesday and Wednesday.
• On Gameday, tickets will be available for purchase at the Schar Center Ticket Office from 9 a.m. until 2 p.m. and walk-up sales will begin at 4:30 p.m. at the Latham Park (Elon's baseball stadium) ticket booths.
• Elon students with a valid student ID will gain FREE admittance through a student entrance on the south end of the stadium, near Phoenix Drive and Global Neighborhood.
• Elon faculty and staff may pick up a FREE ticket in advance by visiting the Elon Ticket Office Tuesday or Wednesday from 9-5 p.m. or Thursday from 9 a.m. until 2 p.m. After the Thursday advance sale deadline of 2 p.m., faculty and staff may receive a reduced price $5 ticket by visiting the Latham Park ticket booths (Elon's baseball stadium) beginning at 4:30 p.m.
• Fans are encouraged to park in either Ingold lot ($5 fee), Hunt B parking lot (behind Schar Center) or Global Neighborhood parking lots near Rudd Field. Due to a home men's basketball game Thursday evening, fans should not park in Hunt A lots at the front of Schar Center.
 
THE MATCHUP
• The Phoenix and the Thundering Herd are meeting for only the third time on the soccer pitch with both teams deadlocked at 1-1.
• Elon won the most recent matchup against Marshall in 2009 with a 2-0 victory at the UNCG Kickoff Classic.
 
NCAA TOURNAMENT HISTORY
• Elon returns to the NCAA Tournament for the fifth time in program history and its second as an at-large berth.
• The Phoenix is also hosting its third-ever NCAA Tournament game at Rudd Field. Elon is unbeaten on its home pitch at 1-0-1.
• Elon last played in the NCAA Tournament in 2015, earning a 3-0 victory over Winthrop in front of an NCAA opening-round best of 2,419 fans.
• In the Phoenix's first-ever NCAA Tournament game at Rudd Field, Elon advanced past Clemson in 2013 after defeating the Tigers in penalty kicks in the 1-1 draw. The game housed an NCAA first-round best of 3,348 fans.
 
 
ELON WELL REPRESENTED ON CAA POSTSEASON AWARDS
• The Phoenix was rewarded for its great CAA season so far during the league's announcement of its postseason awards. Elon won two of the four major awards for the league, headlined by Vemund Hole Vik being named the CAA Defensive Player of the Year and head coach Marc Reeves being selected as the unanimous Coach of the Year.
• Hole Vik became the second Phoenix player to be named the CAA Defensive Player of the Year, joining Nathan Diehl in 2015. Hole Vik was also one of seven Elon players that earned All-CAA honors as the Aalesund, Norway, native earned first team honors.
• Elon had a league-best four players receive All-CAA first team laurels. Along with Hole Vik, Mason Duval, Franc Gamiz Quer and Scott Vatne also received first team honors.
• Ryan Bilichuk and Kasper Lehm were named to the All-CAA second team while first-year Majaliwa Msabaha was placed on the third team and All-Rookie team.
• Reeves became the first Elon coach to receive the CAA Coach of the Year honor. It was the third Coach of the Year accolade overall in Reeves' career.
 
IN THE RANKINGS
• As a team, Elon sits third in the NCAA in shutout percentage at .611 percent and is eighth overall in goals-against average at 0.61.
• Bilichuk's 11 clean sheets are tied for second overall in the country and is eighth in the nation on goals-against average (0.61).
 
OPENING STANZA
• At 11-4-3, Elon has posted its first double-digit winning season since posting 14 victories in 2015. The Phoenix's regular season crown is its first outright title overall since 2012.
• The Phoenix holds an overall 191-174 advantage in shots over the opposition. Elon also has an 83-51 advantage in shots on goal, hitting the target at a .435 percent clip.
• Duval leads the Phoenix in points (14) and goals (seven). Overall, Elon has recorded 27 goals from 15 unique scorers this season.
• Elon has tallied 28 assists this season, its highest total since having 35 in 2015. Lehm and Vatne are tied for the team-lead in assists with six with Lehm also being tied for third all-time in program history in career assists with 18.
• 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.
• 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 117-81-36 with 42 of those victories coming at Elon.
 
SCOUTING MARSHALL
• Ninth-ranked Marshall is 10-3-3 on the season as it makes its fourth straight NCAA Tournament appearance. The Herd is coming off a 1-0 setback to James Madison in the Sun Belt Conference Tournament in its most recent match.
• The Herd is 16^th overall in the country in scoring offense at 2.25 goals per game with 36 total on the season. Three players have seven or more goals for Marshall in its lineup in freshman Matthew Bell (nine goals), senior Milo Yosef (eight) and senior Joao Souza (seven). Yosef was named the SBC Player and Offensive Player of the Year in 2022 while Bell was the conference's Rookie of the Year.
• Defensively, Marshall has only yielded 12 goals all season and is 14^th in the nation in GAA at 0.75. Netminder Oliver Semmle has started all 16 games in goal for the Herd and has five shutouts with a 0.76 GAA and 35 saves.
 
UP NEXT
The winner between the Phoenix and the Herd will advance to Charlottesville, Va., to face the fourth overall seed Virginia on Sunday, Nov. 20.