ELON, N.C. – The Elon University men's soccer team continues its three-match road swing this Sunday, Sept. 17, as the Phoenix (1-2-2) travels to take on South Florida (1-4) at Corbett Stadium. The contest is set for 7 p.m.
 
HOW TO FOLLOW
• Sunday's game will be streamed on ESPN+ via a paid subscription.
• Live stats will also be available for fans to follow along with live updates on Twitter/X at @ElonMSoccer.
 
THE MATCHUP
• Both teams are meeting each other on the soccer pitch for the first time on Sunday.
• Elon has an all-time record of 5-8-2 against current teams in the American Conference.
 
LAST TIME OUT
• The Phoenix rallied from a 2-0 deficit to earn a 2-2 draw versus fellow Piedmont Triad rival High Point on Wednesday, Sept. 13. It was the second straight tie in the series between the Phoenix and the Panthers.
• The Panthers scored the first two goals of the contest in the first 17 minutes of action. Elon trimmed its deficit to one after Ben Rosenblatt scored his first goal of the season in the 22^nd minute to put Elon on the scoreboard.
• Elon's persistence in looking for the equalizing goal finally paid off in the 83^rd minute. The Phoenix earned a corner kick and during the scramble in the box, the ball found Franc Gamiz Quer near the back post with his low shot tying the contest at two-all. It was the first goal of the year for the graduate student, who helped the maroon and gold erase its two-score deficit for the 2-2 draw.
 
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 118-85-36.
• Scott Vatne leads the Phoenix with two goals so far this season. The Klepp, Norway, native is fourth in the CAA in shots per match with 3.0 per game and has 10 attempts on goal, which is third in the league.
• As a team, Elon has attempted 54 shots while opponents have fired 65 shots against the Phoenix. The maroon and gold have 27 shots on target at a 50 percent clip.
• Tomasz Wroblewski sits second in the CAA in saves per game at 5.20. The junior has 26 saves in his first five games, also the second-most in the CAA. His 74.3 save percentage is sixth 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 SOUTH FLORIDA
• The Bulls come into the match with a 1-4 ledger after coming off a 3-2 setback versus Clemson on Tuesday at home. South Florida's lone win of the season came versus No. 15 Indiana on Sept. 8 with a 1-0 win over last year's previous national runner-up.
• Offensively, South Florida has scored three goals on the year while attempting 46 shots on the season with 24 of those coming on goal. Three different players have notched a goal this season in Ajmeer Spengler, Jalen Anderson and Shion Soga. Spengler is the team's leading scorer overall with three points with an assist to his stat line in 2023.
• In goal, Alan Horrocks has played every minute in net for the Bulls while posting a GAA of 1.80. The sophomore has 13 saves on the year while also adding shutout this season.
 
UP NEXT
Elon closes out its road trip with a visit to Drexel next Saturday, Sept. 23, for a rematch of last year's CAA semifinal contest. That game is scheduled for a 1 p.m. kickoff and will stream on FloFC.