ELON, N.C. – The Elon University men's soccer team treks to No. 14 Duke for an early-week matchup on Tuesday, Oct. 10. Kickoff between the Phoenix (1-6-3) and the Blue Devils (6-3-1) is scheduled for 7 p.m. at Koskinen Stadium.
 
HOW TO FOLLOW
• Tuesday's game will be streamed on the ACC Network Extra via Watch ESPN or the ESPN app.
• Live stats will also be available for fans to follow along with live updates on Twitter/X at @ElonMSoccer.
 
THE MATCHUP
• Tuesday will be the 19^th time that Elon and Duke will meet on the soccer pitch in a series going back to 1980. The Blue Devils lead the all-time series with a 14-2-3 ledger over its intrastate foe.
• Duke has won the last two contests over the Phoenix including a 1-0 win at Elon last season. Prior to that, the then third-ranked Blue Devils took a 3-1 over Elon at Koskinen Stadium.
• 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 88th minute.
 
LAST TIME OUT
• Elon was able to earn a CAA point this weekend at Northeastern in a 2-2 draw versus the Huskies. The tie broke a four-game losing skid for the Phoenix.
• The Phoenix struck first in the match to take the lead. Victor Stromsten scored his second goal of the year in the 19^th minute to put Elon ahead 1-0.
• The Huskies came back to level the match in the 29^th minute before taking advantage with their second goal in the 32^nd minute.
• Elon responded to tie the contest again in the 71^st minute with Stromsten providing his second goal of the match. The brace tied the contest at 2-2 which would settle as the final score.
 
STROMSTEN NAMED CAA OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
• For his efforts against the Huskies, Stromsten was named the CAA Player of the Week on Monday, Oct. 9. Stromsten's first career brace gave the Phoenix its second point in CAA play while also giving the striker the team lead in goals with three.
• It was the first CAA weekly award for the Stockholm, Sweden, native in his career and the first for the Phoenix this season.
 
OPENING STANZA
• The Phoenix is in its seventh season under head coach Marc Reeves. Through his 13 seasons as a head coach, Reeves has posted an overall record of 118-89-37.
• Stromsten became just the second player for the Phoenix this season to have multiple goals on the year. Scott Vatne is second on the Phoenix with two goals so far this season.
• Vatne is also fifth in the CAA in shots per match with 2.50 per game and has 11 attempts on goal, which is in the top 10 in the league.
• Elon has had five unique goal-scorers this season. Outside of Stromsten and Vatne, Myson Darden, Franc Gamiz Quer and Ben Rosenblatt are the other members of the squad who have scored for the Phoenix so far in 2023.
• As a team, Elon has attempted 100 shots while opponents have fired 118 shots against the Phoenix. The maroon and gold has 43 shots on target at a 43 percent clip.
• Tomasz Wroblewski sits second in the CAA in saves per game at 4.20. The junior has 42 saves in his first nine games, the second-most in the CAA. His 68.9 save percentage is in the top 10 in the league.
• Elon returns 20 players and six starters in 2023 including returning All-CAA performers in Gamiz Quer, Vatne and Majaliwa Msabaha. The trio was recognized on the 2023 Preseason All-CAA team along with newcomer Luca Erhardt.
• Three players will don the captain armband for the Phoenix this season. Gamiz Quer and Msabaha will join senior Ben Rosenblatt as captains for the 2023 campaign.
• Elon welcomes eight newcomers to its roster for 2023 – Erhardt, Joachim Blomsterberg, Nick Buchholz, Jake Chilton, Jahmir Flowers, August Guinle, Nate Kennedy, JP Quigley, Eddy Righetti, Isak Sedin, Jordin Wilson and Tomasz Wroblewski.
• Erhardt arrives to the Phoenix as a transfer from James Madison. During his time with the Dukes, the Offenbach, Germany, native was a first team All-CAA member in his last played season in 2021 at JMU after scoring a team-high nine goals and an assist for 19 points while starting 17 games.
• The Phoenix also added Tony Falvino as the program's new associate head coach in the spring of 2023. Falvino arrives to Elon after spending the past two seasons as an assistant coach at Mercer. During his time with the Bears, Falvino helped the program to a Southern Conference Tournament title and an NCAA Tournament appearance. Prior to his time at Mercer, Falvino served as the head coach at his alma mater at Greensboro College for six seasons. Under his guidance, the Pride compiled an overall record of 75-29-4 and a conference record of 49-10-3.
 
SCOUTING NO. 14 DUKE
• The 14^th-ranked Blue Devils are 6-3-1 overall in 2023 with a 2-3 ledger in ACC play. Duke has posted a 5-0-1 record on its home pitch at Koskinen Stadium this season, but is coming off a 1-0 setback at No. 11 Notre Dame last Saturday.
• Duke is coming off a 13-2-4 season last fall which saw the Blue Devils advance to the quarterfinal round of the NCAA Tournament. Earlier this preseason, Duke was selected as the No. 4 in the country by the United Soccer Coaches Association.
• Offensively, Duke has 67 total points which is 15^th nationally. The Blue Devils have scored 24 goals so far in 2023 while averaging 17.9 shots per match. Five players have multi-goal efforts this season for Duke with forward Forster Ajago leading the way with nine goals. Nick Pariano is second on the team in goals (four) and points (12) with a team-high four assists.
• Freshman Julian Eyestone has been the starter in the net for the Blue Devils all season. The Dallas, Texas, native has a GAA of 1.30 with 23 saves and three shutouts.
 
PRESEASON PRAISE
• Graduate student defender Franc Gamiz Quer and junior midfielder Scott Vatne have garnered some preseason honors ahead of the 2023 season. Gamiz Quer and Vatne were both selected to the Defender and Midfielder Watch List, respectively, by the United Soccer Coaches Association. The duo was also named to the 2023 Preseason All-CAA team.
• On Thursday, Aug. 24, both players were added to the 2023 Hermann Trophy Watch List by the Missouri Athletic Club (MAC). 
 
UP NEXT
The Phoenix is back on its home pitch this Saturday, Oct. 14, hosting Campbell in a CAA matchup at Rudd Field. Game time is set for 7 p.m.