ELON, N.C. – The Elon University men's soccer team begins its first true road trip of the season as the Phoenix faces former conference rival Furman in an early-week contest on Tuesday, Sept. 13. Kickoff is slated for 6 p.m. at Seagraves Field at Stone Soccer Stadium.
 
HOW TO FOLLOW
• Tuesday's match will be streamed live on ESPN+.
• 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.
 
THE MATCHUP
• Former league rivals from the Southern Conference, Elon and Furman will meet for the 18^th time on the soccer pitch on Tuesday.
• The Paladins hold a 9-5-3 overall record over the Phoenix in the series.
• Both teams played to a 3-3 draw in the most recent matchup at the John Rennie/Nike Classic at Duke University in 2019.
• Elon's last visit to Furman came in 2013 when the Phoenix suffered a 1-0 setback to the 22^nd-ranked Paladins.
• The Phoenix's last win over the Paladins was in 2012 as Elon earned a 1-0 victory over No. 22 Furman at Rudd Field.
 
LAST TIME OUT
• Elon earned its first three points of the Colonial Athletic Association season as the Phoenix came away with a 1-0 victory over league newcomer Stony Brook on Saturday, Sept. 10.
• Mason Duval scored the lone goal of the match in the second minute for the maroon and gold. It was the second goal in as many games for the senior striker.
• The Phoenix outshot the Seawolves, 17-8, in the match and also held Stony Brook without a shot on goal. Both teams had entered the contest tied for the CAA lead in goals per match at 2.00.
• The win leveled Elon's CAA ledger to 1-1 overall, which is currently tied for fifth in the standings.
 
HOLE VIK NAMED CAA DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
• Senior Vemund Hole Vik was selected as the CAA Defensive Player of the Week as announced by the league office on Monday, Sept. 12.
• Hole Vik helped the Phoenix post its CAA-best third clean sheet of the season with its win over Stony Brook with his play from the backline.
• The Aalesund, Norway, native also contributed offensively, adding the assist on the lone goal of the match.
• Hole Vik is the second Phoenix player to be recognized with the CAA Defensive weekly honor. Keeper Ryan Bilichuk also was honored on Aug. 29.
 
OPENING STANZA
• Elon is currently ranked second in the CAA in goals per match (1.75) and is allowing the fewest goals per game at 0.50 for a league-best 1.25 differential margin.
• The Phoenix outshot an opponent for the second straight game after Saturday and holds an overall 49-37 advantage in shots over the opposition.
• Individually, five players have scored a goal for the Phoenix. Duval and Scott Vatne are tied for the team lead with two goals each. Vatne paces the Phoenix in total points (five) and leads the CAA in shots (16).
• Bilichuk has manned every minute in between the posts for the Phoenix so far this season. The graduate student has posted three shutouts with his CAA-best 0.50 goals-against average. The netminder has also made eight saves with a percentage of .800
• 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 109-79-33.
 
SCOUTING FURMAN
• Furman has been idle since claiming a 1-0 victory over North Greenville last Tuesday and enters the match 3-0-1 on the season.
• The Paladins were tabbed second in the 2022 SoCon Preseason Poll after coming off a 7-9-1 record last fall.
• As a team, Furman has scored five total goals on the year and holds a slight 48-46 advantage in shots. The Paladins have 22 of those shots on target at a .458 percent clip.
• Five different players have scored each of the five goals for the Paladins. Callum Holland and Slade Starnes are tied for the team lead in points at four each.
• Ben Roberts has appeared in every minute for the Paladins in goal this season. The senior netminder has a 0.50 GAA with 12 saves and a pair of shutouts
 
UP NEXT
Elon continues its road swing this Saturday, Sept. 17, as the Phoenix treks to Delaware. The scheduled start for that match is set for 3 p.m.