Elon, N.C. – The Elon lacrosse team (4-10, 0-5 CAA) hosts Delaware (6-7, 2-3 CAA) Saturday at 4:00 p.m. at Rudd Field for Senior Day. Please note the time change due to anticipated weather in the area earlier in the day.
 
The game will serve as the final home game of the year and the program will recognize its seniors prior to the start of the game – Cassidy Creighton, Julia Dalmass, Kaley Ehnow, Camryn Levin, Hannah McCarthy, Rachel Mikolay, Lauren Merullo, Abbey Rose, and Ellie Stricker.
 
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 DELAWARE

• Delaware opened the season by winning four of its first five matches but the Blue Hens have fallen to 6-7 on the season. At 2-3 in the CAA, Delaware is just a couple of breaks from being near the top of the CAA standings, posting a 13-11 loss to Drexel and an overtime defeat to William & Mary.
• Delaware is 14^th nationally in draw control percentage, winning 57.8 percent of its chances. The Blue Hens have added 9.31 caused turnovers per game, 24^th in the nation. All of that works to limit an opponent's opportunities.
• On the flip side, Delaware ranks among the bottom 20 teams in the country in turnovers, averaging 18.8 per game. The Blue Hens also have just a 37.9 shot percentage.
• Madison Hranicka has caused chaos for opposing offenses, causing 2.85 turnovers per game, fourth in the country. Lizzie Yurchak's 71.4 free-position percentage ranks among the top ten nationally as well. Delaney McDaniel does a solid job distributing in the offensive end with 26 assists.
• Head Coach Amy Altig is in her fourth season leading Delaware after spending nine seasons on the coaching staff at Penn State. Although she is just 14-27 in her time at Delaware, this year's six-win team has posted the most wins in the program since the 2019 team won seven games.

 
SERIES HISTORY

• Elon holds a 4-3 lead in the all-time series with Delaware, which dates back to the 2015 campaign.
• Delaware has won the last two meetings but two of the last three games have been decided by just one goal. In fact, five of the seven all-time meetings have been decided by three goals or less.

 
LAST TIME OUT

• Senior Hannah McCarthy had six points (four goals and two assists) but Hofstra's offense was too much to overcome in a 17-12 loss at Rudd Field this past Saturday.
• Freshman Caitlin Walsh had 11 saves in goal, her sixth consecutive game with at least nine.
• Hofstra led by just one goal, 7-6, at the half and the game was still in doubt heading into the fourth. But the Pride scored the first two goals of the final period to pull away.

 
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 14 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 42 points in 2023, leading the team both in goals (32) and assists (10). In a win over Coastal Carolina earlier this season, she had a career-high eight points. She had a career-best seven at Towson.
• Hopson now has 55 career goals, eighth-most in program history. Nicole Sinacori (2015-18) is next on the list with 59 goals.
• Hopson's 16 assists are seventh in school history. Shannon Horan (2016-19) had 21 and is currently sixth.
• Hopson's 71 career points is tied with Anna Vitton (2014-17) for seventh in program history. Abby Godfrey (2015-18) sits in sixth with 72 career points, while Sinacori is fifth with 83.

 
HACKETT MAKING IT LOOK EASY

• Just a freshman, Anna Hackett recorded a program-record five consecutive hat tricks before being held to just two goals against No. 6 Stony Brook. She is second on the team with 30 goals and has scored at least three goals seven times.
• Hackett's five-game run of three-or-more goals began with three goals and an assist against Virginia on March 5 and concluded with three goals against Monmouth on March 18. She has scored at least one goal in 11 of the team's 12 games.
• Hackett is fifth in goals scored in program history among freshmen. She needs three more to tie Anna Vitton (2014) and Kaley Thompson (2019) for third. Stephanie Asher scored a freshman program-record 44 goals in 2015.
• Hackett's 30 goals are tied for 13th among freshmen at the NCAA Division I level this year and the most in the CAA.

 
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 54 draw controls on the season, Fisher is fifth in a single-season in program history. She needs five more to catch Curran (59 in 2019) for fourth. Curran holds the program record with 79 draw controls a year ago.
• Fisher's 70 career draw controls are fourth in program history. Alexis Zadjura (2015-18) is third with 95 and Curran holds the program record with 195 from 2019-22.

 
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 .434
 
INDIVIDUAL RANKINGS (TOP TEN)
Goals Per Game – 7. Cierra Hopson 2.29
Points Per Game – 10. Cierra Hopson 3.00
Goals Against Average – 9. Chloe Herghelegiu 12.85, 10. Caitlin Walsh 13.98
Save Percentage – 7. Caitlin Walsh .399
Saves Per Game – 6. Caitlin Walsh 7.08, 8. Chloe Herghelegiu 4.86
Draw Controls Per Game – 9. Sammy Fisher 3.86
 
ELON AMONG THE NCAA LEADERS

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

 
TEAM RANKINGS (TOP 50)
Clearing Percentage – 40. Elon .879
Free-Position Percentage – 28. Elon .487
Shot Percentage – 47. Elon .434
 
INDIVIDUAL RANKINGS (TOP 50)
Free Position Percentage – 19. Anna Hackett .625
Shot Percentage – 42. Anna Hackett .545
 
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.