Elon, N.C. – The Elon Lacrosse team (4-6, 0-1 CAA) returns home on Saturday to host No. 6 Stony Brook (5-2, 1-0 CAA) at noon. Elon opened conference play with a hard-fought 12-11 loss at Monmouth, while Stony Brook defeated Delaware 19-6 in its conference opener.
 
HOW TO FOLLOW

• The broadcast of the game is available by CLICKING HERE.
• Live stats are available by CLICKING HERE.
• Follow the official social media accounts of Elon Lacrosse:
  • Twitter - @ElonWLax
  • Instagram - @ElonWLax

 
ABOUT STONY BROOK

• Stony Brook enters Saturday's game with a 5-2 record, which includes games against five ranked teams. The Seawolves won three of those games – against Michigan, Yale and Stanford. Stony Brook's only losses have come against the current No. 1 and No. 2 teams in the country – Syracuse and Northwestern.
• Stony Brook rarely turns the ball over and ranks third nationally in fewest turnovers at 10.43 per contest. The Seawolves, in turn, generate the eighth-most shot on goal in the country at 25.29. Stony Brook also ranks among the top 20 in the country in scoring margin, scoring offense and assists.
• There have been a few struggles at time for Stony Brook. The Seawolves only have a .383 save percentage, commit 20.9 fouls per game and are only converting on 38.2 percent of free-percentage shots. 
• Ellie Masera is one of the nation's best scorers, averaging 4.0 goals per game, third in the country. Her 6.57 shots on goal per game rank second nationally and her 4.86 points per game are 16^th in the country.
• Head Coach Joe Spallina is 180-35 since taking over at Stony Brook for the 2012 season. He has led the program to four appearances in the NCAA Quarterfinals, including each of the last two seasons. Prior to his time at Stony Brook, he went 73-2 in four seasons at Adelphi, winning three NCAA Division II National Championships.

 
SERIES HISTORY

• This will be the first all-time meeting between Elon and Stony Brook.

 
LAST TIME OUT

• Elon played its sixth one-goal game of the season, dropping the conference opener to Monmouth, 12-11.
• Elon led by as many as five goals in the second period but Monmouth stormed back and scored the final two goals of the game for the victory.
• Anna Hackett posted her fifth consecutive hat trick and seventh of the season.
• Caitlin Walsh had nine saves in goal and Brook Scheuermann had a team-high four ground balls to go with two caused turnovers.

 
IT TAKES 60 (AND SOMETIMES MORE)

• Elon has held a lead in the fourth quarter seven times this season, going 4-3 in those contests.
• 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.
• In two road victories, the Phoenix beat George Mason 14-13 and Coastal Carolina 16-15. Elon rallied to score the final three goals in the George Mason win but never trailed in the fourth quarter against CCU.
• In the team's 9-8 win at High Point, Elon led in the fourth quarter for only the final 12 seconds after Kaley Ehnow's goal put the Phoenix ahead for good.
• In the loss to Monmouth, Elon led 10-9 and 11-10 in the fourth quarter, but Monmouth tied the game with 4:22 to play and scored the game-winner 26 seconds later.

 
DOWN TO THE WIRE

• Among Elon's 10 eight games, six have been decided by one goal. The Phoenix is 3-3 in those contests.
• With six one-goal games, Elon has already broken the program record of five one-goal games, set in 2017.
• The 2017 team went 4-1 in one goal games, which included three one-goal wins over ranked opponents (No. 13 Virginia, No. 19 Virginia Tech and No. 17 Towson).
• The 2016 team played three straight one-goal games, just as this year's team did, picking up wins over Coastal Carolina and Duke, followed by a one-score loss at Vanderbilt.

 
SOPHOMORE CIERRA SETTING SCORING MARKS

• Cierra Hopson leads Elon with 30 points in 2023, ranking second in goals with 20 and boasting a team-high 10 assists. In a win over Coastal Carolina earlier this season, she set career marks with five assists and eight points.
• Hopson now has 43 career goals, 10^th most in program history. Molly Garrigan (2014-15) sits ninth with 50 career goals.
• Hopson's 16 assists are seventh in school history. Shannon Horan (2016-19) had 21 and is currently sixth.
• Hopson's 59 career points rank ninth. She needs four more points to tie former teammate Cate Mackel (2019-22) for eighth.

 
HACKETT MAKING IT LOOK EASY

• Just a freshman, Anna Hackett has recorded five consecutive hat tricks and leads the team with 25 goals. Overall, she has scored at least three goals in seven of the team's 10 contests.
• Hackett's five-game run of three-or-more goals is the longest such streak in Elon program history.
• Hackett needs just four more goals to tie Olivia Fernandez (2014) for fifth in program history among freshmen.

 
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 for a single-game set by former teammate Gillian Curren (and then tied) a year ago. Curren had 12 draw controls against both Campbell and William & Mary.
• With 42 draw controls on the season, Fisher is already fifth in a single-season in program history. She needs 10 more to catch Elle Hvozdovic (52 in 2014) for fourth. Curran holds the program record with 79 draw controls a year ago.
• Fisher's 58 career draw controls are seventh in program history. She needs three more to break into the top five at Elon.

 
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.

 
HACKETT NAMED ROOKIE OF THE WEEK

• Elon freshman Anna Hackett was named CAA Rookie of the Week on Feb. 20 after scoring seven goals in two games for the Phoenix. Hackett had three goals in a win over Queens and then followed that up with four goals against VCU. She had four caused turnovers during the two contests as well.

 
ELON AMONG THE CAA LEADERS

• Listed below are Elon's ranks within the CAA through ten games:

 
TEAM RANKINGS (TOP THREE)
Shot Percentage – 2. Elon .443
 
INDIVIDUAL RANKINGS (TOP TEN)
Goals Per Game – 6. Anna Hackett 2.50
Goals Against Average – 8. Caitlin Walsh 12.61, 9. Chloe Herghelegiu 12.85
Saves Per Game – 7. Caitlin Walsh 5.38, 9. Chloe Herghelegiu 4.86
Save Percentage – 6. Caitlin Walsh .398, 10. Chloe Herghelegiu .354
Ground Balls Per Game – 7. Jessie Penner 2.10
Draw Controls Per Game – 7. Sammy Fisher 4.20
 
ELON AMONG THE NCAA LEADERS

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

 
TEAM RANKINGS (TOP 50)
Caused Turnovers Per Game – 50. 8.20
Clearing Percentage – 40. Elon .876
Draw Controls Per Game – 49. Elon 13.80
Free-Position Percentage – 37. Elon .475
Shot Percentage – 37. Elon .443
 
INDIVIDUAL RANKINGS (TOP 50)
Free Position Goals Per Game – 17. Anna Hackett 0.90
Free Position Percentage – 24. Anna Hackett .600
Goals – 43. Anna Hackett 25
Shot Percentage – 34. Anna Hackett .568
 
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.