Elon, N.C. – Fresh off of its first win of the season, Elon (1-1) will host VCU (1-1) Saturday at noon on Rudd Field. The Phoenix bounced back from a one goal loss in the season opener to defeat Queens 13-9 Wednesday to reach .500 on the season.
 
HOW TO FOLLOW

• Live stats are available by CLICKING HERE.
• The game will be broadcasted on FloSports for a subscription fee. To watch Saturday's game, please CLICK HERE.
• Follow the official social media accounts of Elon Lacrosse:
  • Twitter - @ElonWLax
  • Instagram - @ElonWLax

 
ABOUT VCU

• VCU is 2-0 on the season, having played two home games thus far. The Rams lost their season opener to Virginia Tech 14-8 before defeating Old Dominion by an identical 14-8 score.
• The Rams went 7-10 a year ago, including a 3-6 record in Atlantic 10 play.
• Kelsey McDonnell leads VCU with eight goals in two games and goalie Meghna Dawar has a .476 save percentage through two contests.
• VCU has a slim 27-25 advantage in draw controls on the season but has committed three more turnovers than its opponents, 31-28. Opponents are a perfect 40-for-40 on clear attempts through two games.
• Head Coach Nicole Flores is in her second season at VCU after serving as an assistant coach at Stanford, Dartmouth, Trinity, Bowdoin, Union and Eastern Connecticut State.

 
SERIES HISTORY

• Elon and VCU are meeting for the third consecutive season with the Phoenix holding a 2-0 lead in the series.
• The two programs faced each other for the first time in 2021 with Elon winning 19-3 on Rudd Field.
• A year ago, Elon posted a 13-8 victory at VCU behind three goals from Hannah McCarthy.

 
LAST TIME OUT

• Elon jumped out to a 10-2 lead and held off a late Queens rally for a 13-9 win Wednesday night on Rudd Field.
• Sophomore Sammy Fisher tied a career-high with four goals and tied the program record with 12 draw controls in the victory. She added a caused turnover.
• Freshman Anna Hackett posted her first hat trick, while sophomore Cierra Hopson recorded her second hat trick in as many games.
• Freshman Jessie Penner led the team with three ground balls.

 
SUPER SAMMY

• Sophomore Sammy Fisher tied the program record with 12 draw controls in Wednesday's victory over Queens.
• Fisher tied the program record set by former teammate Gillian Curren (and then tied) a year ago. Curren had 12 draw controls against both Campbell and William & Mary.
• With 17 draw controls, Fisher is already more than halfway to breaking into Elon's top 10 leaderboard for draw controls in a season. Quinn Daly ranks 10^th with 33 in 2021. Gillian Curren set the school record a year ago with 79.

 
TRIPLE THREAT

• Elon has three players with at least 25 career goals – Hannah McCarthy, Cierra Hopson and Sammy Fisher.
• McCarthy leads the way with 35 career goals, followed by Hopson with 30 and Fisher with 25.
• McCarthy's 11 career assists is just one shy of breaking into Elon's all-time top 10.

 
TURNING THEM OVER

• Elon set a number of single-game school records in the season-opener against Old Dominion as the Phoenix continually forced the Monarchs into turnovers.
• Old Dominion committed 28 turnovers, the most committed by an Elon opponent in a single game, breaking the previous record of 25 set by William & Mary in 2017.
• Elon forced most of those, causing a school-record 22 turnovers in the game. That broke the previous record of 18 caused turnovers in the 2017 contest against William & Mary.
• Mikaela Buoscio was especially adept at forcing turnovers, tying the program record with seven caused turnovers in a contest. That ties the seven that Melanie McHugh caused in that 2017 William & Mary game.
• Kaley Ehnow, Cierra Hopson and Julia Dalmass each forced three turnovers as well. Freshman Jessie Penner forced two in her collegiate debut.

 
HOPSON'S FLURRY

• Cierra Hopson led Elon with four goals and five points in the season opener against Old Dominion, with most of those coming in a three-minute stretch that spanned across halftime.
• With Elon trailing 7-5, she scored twice in the final 45 seconds of the second quarter to tie the game.
• Within the first two minutes of the second half, Hopson added two more points. She scored just 77 seconds into the period and then assisted on Sammy Fisher's goal 23 seconds later that gave Elon a 9-7 advantage. 

 
ELON AMONG THE CAA LEADERS

• Listed below are Elon's ranks within the CAA through the first weekend of the regular season:

 
TEAM RANKINGS (TOP THREE)
Shot Percentage – 2. Elon .429
Shots on Goal – 3. Elon 21.0/game
Ground Balls – t1. Elon 19.0/game
Caused Turnovers – 1. Elon 14.5/game
 
INDIVIDUAL RANKINGS (TOP FIVE)
Goals – t1. Cierra Hopson 3.5/game; t3. Sammy Fisher 3.0/game
Caused Turnovers – t3. Mikaela Buoscio 3.5/game
Draw Controls – 1. Sammy Fisher 8.5/game
 
FOLLETTE EARNS CAA PRESEASON RECOGNITION

• Junior defender Kailee Follette was named to the 2023 CAA Women's Lacrosse Preseason All-Conference honorable mention team.
• Follette played in all 16 games a year ago, starting 15 times. She led Elon with 26 ground balls and 15 caused turnovers.
• She has started 27 times over the course of her first two years at Elon.

 
TEAM CAPTAINS NAMED

• Head Coach Josh Hexter has named senior Julia Dalmass and Ellie Stricker, along with juniors Kailee Follette and Mikaela Buoscio as captains for the 2023 season.
• Dalmass is a team captain for the second consecutive year and has started all 33 of Elon's games over the past three years. She has 22 career caused turnovers, 32 career ground balls and 25 career draw controls.
• Stricker started 14 games in 2022 and had 15 ground balls and seven cause turnovers on the season.
• Follette led the 2022 team with 26 ground balls and 15 caused turnovers.
• Buoscio has played in 25 games over the past two seasons, recording three goals and three assists in 2022. She was 2-for-2 on free position shots and added nine ground balls, 12 draw controls and four caused turnovers.

 
GLOBAL IMPACT

• Over Thanksgiving Break 2022, the Elon lacrosse team spent a week in Greece as part of Elon's commitment to diversity and global engagement.
• The team spent time exploring the country, visiting places like Athens, Olympia, and the Acropolos, as well as leading lacrosse clinics at different schools.