ELON, N.C. – The Elon University men's soccer team hosts Northeastern in its Colonial Athletic Association and home opener on Saturday, Sept. 3, on the Phoenix's home pitch at Rudd Field. Kickoff for the match is slated for 7 p.m.
 
HOW TO FOLLOW
• Saturday's match will be broadcasted 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.
 
MATCHDAY PROMOTIONS
• The Phoenix will be giving away free sunglasses to current Elon University students that attend the game on Saturday.
 
THE MATCHUP
• Going into Saturday, Elon and Northeastern have squared off 10 times on the soccer pitch with the Phoenix holding a 6-2-2 all-time advantage over the Huskies.
• The two teams last met in the semifinal round of the CAA Tournament this past fall. The Phoenix came away with a 1-0 victory over the Huskies thanks to a Scott Vatne penalty kick in the 75^th minute. The victory clinched the Phoenix's first-ever trip to the CAA championship match.
 
LAST TIME OUT
• Elon went 2-0 at its season-opening tournament, the John Rennie/Nike Classic at Duke University this past weekend. The Phoenix came away with victories over Milwaukee and San Diego, outscoring both teams by a combined score of 5-0.
• The Phoenix began its 2022 campaign last Friday, Aug. 26, with a 2-0 win over Milwaukee. Elon had goal-scoring performances from Vatne and newcomer Michael Clow in its first-ever meeting against the Panthers.
• Elon closed out the tournament with a 3-0 victory versus San Diego on Sunday, Aug. 28. After a scoreless opening stanza, the Phoenix saw Mason Duval, Majaliwa Msabaha and Ryan Manna score their first career goals in the second half to help Elon improve to 2-0 on the season.
• Vatne, goalkeeper Ryan Bilichuk and defender Franc Gamiz Quer were all selected to the All-Tournament team.
 
BILICHUK TABBED CAA DEFENDER OF THE WEEK
• Bilichuk was named the CAA's Defensive Player of the Week on Monday, Aug. 29, for his performance in goal at the John Rennie/Nike Classic.
• The netminder from Greenville, S.C., had two clean sheets between the posts for the Phoenix while also having a total of seven saves in the two games.
• Bilichuk is the first Elon player to be named CAA Defensive Player of the Week since Kasper Lehm received the honor last fall.
 
OPENING STANZA
• 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 108-78-33.
• The Phoenix is coming off an 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.
 
SCOUTING NORTHEASTERN
• The Huskies are 0-1-1 to start the new year with its last contest coming against crosstown rival Boston College in a 3-2 setback on Monday, Aug. 29.
• Northeastern is coming off an 11-6-2 record from 2021, its highest win total since 2012. The Huskies were predicted to finish fourth in the 2022 CAA Preseason Poll.
• Northeastern welcomes back two players who were selected to the 2022 All-CAA Preseason team in striker Timothy Ennin and midfielder Federico Tellez. Tellez was the team-leader in points last season with 25 while Ennin was one of four players for the Huskies with six or more goals on the year.
• Rich Weinrebe is in his first season at the helm of the Northeastern men's soccer program. Prior to joining the Huskies, Weinrebe was the associate head coach and recruiting coordinator at New Hampshire for eight seasons.
 
UP NEXT
Elon is back at home next Saturday, Sept. 10, hosting CAA newcomer Stony Brook at Rudd Field. That match is scheduled for a 2 p.m. start time.