ELON, N.C. – Off to its best start since 2015, the Elon University men's soccer team welcomes its toughest test of the season so far hosting No. 4/5 Duke on Tuesday, Sept. 20. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. at Rudd Field.
 
HOW TO FOLLOW
• Tuesday'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.
 
THE MATCHUP
• Elon and Duke have met on the soccer pitch 18 times going into Tuesday's matchup. The Blue Devils hold a 13-2-3 ledger all-time over the Phoenix in a series going back to 1980.
• Both teams met last fall in Durham, N.C., with No. 3 Duke coming away with a 3-1 win over the maroon and gold.
• The Phoenix's last win in the series came in 2019 at Elon as the maroon and gold came away with a 3-2 win on a Vemund Hole Vik game-winner in the 88^th minute.
 
LAST TIME OUT
• Elon earned its second win of Colonial Athletic Association play this weekend at Delaware as the Phoenix defeated the Blue Hens, 2-0.
• The Phoenix scored first in the opening stanza at the 33^rd minute as Petro Klishch connected on his first career goal.
• Calle Edelstam doubled the Phoenix's lead at the 74^th minute on his first goal of the season.
• The win improved the Phoenix to 5-1 overall and 2-1 in the CAA standings. It also leveled Elon's all-time series versus Delaware to 4-4-1.
 
LEHM NAMED CAA DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
• For the third time this season, the Phoenix had a player named the CAA Defensive Player of the Week with senior Kasper Lehm earning recognition on Monday, Sept. 19.
• Lehm helped the Phoenix go 2-0 last week with a pair of 2-0 victories at Furman and at Delaware. The Odense, Denmark, native also contributed on the offensive end adding three assists to his stat line.
• The outside back had two assists in Elon's 2-0 win at Furman last Tuesday as the Phoenix defeated the Paladins for the first time since 2012.
• He added another assist in Elon's 2-0 victory in the Phoenix's first league road match at Delaware.
• This is the second straight week that a member of the Phoenix has earned the league's Defensive weekly honor and third overall this season. Vemund Hole Vik was recognized last week by the CAA and Ryan Bilichuk was selected earlier in the season.
 
OPENING STANZA
• Elon has posted three straight clean sheets, its longest streak since having four consecutive shutouts in 2017.
• Going back to the second half of its match versus Northeastern on Sept. 3, Elon has not conceded a goal in 311 minutes of action.
• The Phoenix heads into the match on Tuesday ranking first in the nation in shutout percentage at .833.
• Bilichuk is tied for first in the country in total shutouts with five clean sheets. The Greenville, S.C., native has played every minute in goal for the Phoenix and has a 0.33 goals-against average with 16 saves and a .889 save percentage.
• Elon is currently first in the CAA in goals per match (1.833) and has a league-best 1.50 differential margin.
• The Phoenix outshot an opponent for the fourth straight game Saturday and holds an overall 78-57 advantage in shots over the opposition. Elon also has a 36-19 advantage in shots on goal, hitting the target at a .462 percent clip.
• Mason Duval leads the Phoenix in points (six) and with his team-best three goals on the year. The senior striker is second in the CAA with two game-winning goals.
• Scott Vatne is second on the Phoenix in total points (five) and has attempted a CAA-best 21 shots this season. Lehm is tied for the league lead in assists with four.
• 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 111-79-33.
 
SCOUTING NO. 4/5 DUKE
• Duke battled fellow in-state and ACC rival North Carolina to a 1-1 draw in its most recent matchup last Friday to remain unbeaten on the year at 4-0-1.
• The Blue Devils were ranked fourth in TopDrawerSoccer.com's Top-25 poll and fifth in the most recent United Soccer Coaches Association poll from last Tuesday.
• As a team, Duke has scored 11 goals while conceding only two all season. The Blue Devils are averaging 13.6 shots per contest and are hitting .426 percent of their shots on target.
• Sophomore Shakur Mohammed leads Duke in total points with eight on his three goals and two assists. In goal, Elliot Hamill has a GAA of 0.40 with three shutouts and 19 saves at a .905 save percentage.
 
UP NEXT
Elon is back on the road this Saturday, Sept. 24 at Monmouth with the match scheduled for a 1 p.m. start time.