Elon, N.C. – The Elon University Lacrosse team (1-2 record) heads on the road for the first time this season, playing games at George Mason (0-3) Thursday and at Coastal Carolina (1-1) Sunday. After three consecutive home games to open the season, Elon hits the road for three in a row.
 
HOW TO FOLLOW

• Live stats for Thursday's game at George Mason are available by CLICKING HERE.
• Sunday's game will be broadcast by Coastal Carolina on the Chanticleer Sports Network by CLICKING HERE and live stats will be available by CLICKING HERE.
• Follow the official social media accounts of Elon Lacrosse:
  • Twitter - @ElonWLax
  • Instagram - @ElonWLax

 
ABOUT GEORGE MASON

• George Mason is 0-3 on the season including an 18-9 loss to another CAA foe, Monmouth. GMU dropped a one-goal game to Longwood 8-7 before losing to East Carolina 14-2 in its most recent contest.
• The Patriots are scoring just 6.0 goals per game, ranking 106 out of 119 teams. They've struggled to generate shots (20.0 per game) and the team's shot percentage is just 30 percent.
• On the other hand, George Mason ranks among the top 25 in the country with just 12.7 turnovers per contest and also has a solid 88.4 percentage on clear attempts. Meghan Deehan is fourth nationally with 32 saves in goal and ranks 16^th with 10.7 saves per game.
• Head Coach Kara Mupo is in her third season at George Mason. She was a two-time national champion at Northwestern.
• In the Atlantic 10 preseason poll, George Mason was picked to finish eighth out of 10 teams.

 
ABOUT COASTAL CAROLINA

• Coastal Carolina is 1-1 on the season, defeating Presbyterian in the season opener 20-3 before losing to Davidson 13-8.
• CCU is 18^th nationally in scoring defense, allowing 8.0 goals per game and and 21^st in scoring margin at +6.0 per game.
• Coastal Carolina is not forcing many turnovers with just 5.5 caused turnovers per game and the Chanticleers have just a 33.3 conversion rate on free position shots.
• Hope Steuerwald is the team's biggest offensive threat, averaging 3.0 goals per game and 5.5 shots on goal per contest.
• Rachel Shuck Whitten is in her second year as head coach after leading the team to a 6-11 mark a year ago.

 
SERIES HISTORY

• This will be the first all-time meeting between Elon and George Mason.
• Coastal Carolina beat Elon in overtime a year ago at Rudd Field in a high-scoring 15-14 contest. That snapped the Phoenix's perfect record against the Chanticleers but Elon still leads the all-time series 7-1.
• Elon had won the first seven meetings with CCU by a total of 39 goals.

 
LAST TIME OUT

• VCU scored late in regulation and then added a goal on the first possession of overtime for a 9-8 win over Elon on Rudd Field.
• Sophomore goalie Chloe Herghelegiu had a career-high 13 saves in the defeat.
• Freshman Anna Hackett scored a career-best four goals, her second consecutive hat trick, and added three caused turnovers.  
• Elon was 21-of-22 on clear attempts and held a 16-12 advantage on ground balls. But VCU's 16-5 edge in draw controls was crucial to the outcome.

CAA RECOGNITION

• After scoring seven goals in two games, Anna Hackett was named the CAA Rookie of the Week on Monday.
• Hackett had three goals in a 13-9 win over Queens and then a career-best four in a 9-8 overtime los to VCU, adding three caused turnovers and a ground ball.

IT TAKES 60

• Although Elon is just 1-2 in the early-going of the 2023 season, the Phoenix have lead in the fourth quarter of every game this year.
• In a season-opening 12-11 loss to Old Dominion, Elon led 11-10 on a Hannah McCarthy goal with 13:46 to play. ODU tied the game at 7:28 to play and won it on a goal with 5:31 left.
• Elon never trailed against Queens, leading 10-2 at one point and holding a 10-5 lead heading into the fourth.
• Against VCU, Elon led 7-6 going into the fourth. After VCU tied it with 10:42 to go, Elon took an 8-7 advantage on a Cierra Hopson goal with 8:59 left. VCU would tie the game with 3:02 left and then win it in overtime.

 
SUPER SAMMY

• Sophomore Sammy Fisher tied the program record with 12 draw controls in the team'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 19 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 31 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 three games:

 
TEAM RANKINGS (TOP THREE)
Shot Percentage – t3. Elon .421
Ground Balls – 2. Elon 18.0/game
Caused Turnovers – 1. Elon 12.7/game
 
INDIVIDUAL RANKINGS (TOP FIVE)
Goals Against Average – 5. Caitlin Walsh 9.9/game
Save Percentage – 2. Chloe Herghelegiu .528
Ground Balls – t5. Jessie Penner 3.3/game
Draw Controls – 3. Sammy Fisher 6.3/game
Caused Turnovers – t4. Mikaela Buoscio 2.7/game
 
ELON AMONG THE NCAA LEADERS

• Listed below are Elon's ranks within the NCAA through three games:

 
TEAM RANKINGS (TOP 25)
Caused Turnovers – 6. Elon 12.7/game
 
INDIVIDUAL RANKINGS (TOP 50)
Caused Turnovers – 25. Mikaela Buoscio 2.7/game
Draw Controls – 37. Sammy Fisher 6.3/game
Free Position Goals – 29. Anna Hackett 1.0/game
Free Position Percentage – 43. Anna Hackett .750
Ground Balls – 38. Jessie Penner 3.3/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.