Elon, N.C.- The Elon Phoenix (8-3-1) will hit I-40 Tuesday afternoon to battle with the #19 UNCG Spartans (6-1-4) tomorrow night. Elon enters the match following an exhibition win over Cape Fear after the Phoenix fell to the #9/16 Duke Blue Devils last Tuesday night at Rudd Field.
 
Kickoff with the Spartans on Tuesday will be at 7 pm.
 
 
How to Follow

• Tuesday's game with the Spartans will be streamed on ESPN+, and you can watch the game by CLICKING HERE.
• Live stats will be available for the matchup with UNCG and will be available by CLICKING HERE.
• Live updates will be available on both X and Instagram during the match @ElonMSoccer.

 
The All-Time Series

• This will be the 27^th meeting all-time between the Phoenix and the Spartans.  
• Elon trails in the all-time series 11-14-1.
• The last Phoenix win over the Spartans came in 2019 when Elon defeated the Spartans, 3-0 at Rudd Field.

 
Last Time Out

• The Phoenix fell to the nationally ranked Duke Blue Devils after a tough 90 minutes between the two sides.  
• The first chance of the game was made by the Phoenix after being awarded a free kick. Vatne lined up the free kick, but the goalkeeper was able to make a comfortable save to keep the game goalless.
• Duke controlled possession for the first 25 minutes of the first half, but the Phoenix were able to create stronger chances with Sumner Nenninger. Nenninger charged up the field and his shot took a deflection and forced a reflex save from Duke's keeper.
• After a foul in front of a ruckus Elon crowd, Scott Vatne stood over a free kick. His ball found the head of Ryan Manna who beat the keeper to the ball and put it in an empty net to give the Phoenix a 1-0 lead heading into halftime.
• The Blue Devils answered quickly out of the halftime break with a goal that equalized the match barely beating the hand of Wroblewski.
• Duke took the lead in the 54^th minute with a curling, outside the box effort that nicked off the fingers of Elon's netminder into the back of the net.
• Both teams would trade possession and chances after Duke took the lead.
• Elon was able to push in the final five minutes looking for the equalizer. Vatne served a corner with ten seconds left, but Elon couldn't find the back of the net and fell to the top 10 Blue Devils.

 
Preseason Praise

• Senior Scott Vatne and graduate Victor Stromsten were both selected to the All-CAA preseason team while junior Majaliwa Msabaha was an honorable mention. Stromsten makes his first appearance on an All-CAA preseason list following his 13-point season in 2023.
• Vatne makes his second straight appearance on the All-CAA preseason team while Msabaha is featured for a second time on the honorable mention list.
• Stromsten returns to the Phoenix for his fifth season at Elon. The forward came on strong at the end of the season up top for the Phoenix, scoring four goals in his final six conference games. Stromsten saw the Phoenix through to the CAA semifinals with a game-winning goal over the number three seeded Stony Brook Sea Wolves.
• Vatne enters his senior season having amassed a list of preseason and post-season honors over the last year. Following an All-CAA First Team and All-Atlantic Region season in 2023, Vatne returns to the midfield following a 12-point season and leading the Phoenix in assists with four.
• Msabaha makes his second honorable mention side after back-to-back All-CAA Third Team selections. The junior captain led the Phoenix last season in the midfield, making 16 starts in 17 games and picking up an assist in Elon's CAA quarterfinal win.

 
Top Drawer Recognition

• Earlier this season, Elon was ranked in three straight Top Drawer Soccer rankings reaching the top-10 in September.
• Elon has been laced with preseason honors to several players with Scott Vatne and Tomasz Wroblewski being named to the Top Drawer Soccer Preseason Top 100 players list.
• The Phoenix was the lone club in the CAA with multiple players on the Top 100 list with Hofstra being the only other CAA school with a player mentioned.
• This was the first time Elon had two players listed on the preseason list since Elon joined the CAA ten years ago.
• Victor Stromsten was selected to the Top Drawer Soccer National Team of the Week this past week for his performances against both Radford and Coastal Carolina.
• Tomasz Wroblewski was named to the Top Drawer Soccer National Team of the Week after a 13-save performance against Wake Forest.

 
Scouting UNCG
 

• UNCG was selected third in the SoCon preseason poll.
• Arnaud Tattevin and Basile Marc were both selected to the preseason All-SoCon team.
• The Spartans enter the match with a 6-1-4 record and a 1-0-1 record in Southern Conference play.
• Yoshiya Okawa leads the way in points and goals for the Spartans.
• Seth Wilson has made 33 saves in goal in 10 starts for UNCG. His goals allowed average sits at 0.70.
• Chris Rich is in his sixth season at UNCG and has already won three SoCon regular season titles and eclipsed the 50 career wins plateau this season.

 
New Faces Making Impact

• Colin Veltri, Connor Mucchetti, and Charlie Kitch all join the Phoenix after playing elsewhere in the 2023 season.
• Veltri has scored in five straight matches and has secured at least a point in all seven matches. Veltri becomes the first player under Marc Reeves to secure a 15-point season.
• Connnor Mucchetti and Charlie Kitch both secured their first goals as Phoenix in the 5-0 victory against Radford.
• Both Veltri and Mucchetti joined the Phoenix in the spring with Kitch joining Elon this fall.
• Jack Donlan transferred in from Indian Hills Community College. Donlan has been a fixture at the back, securing a full 90 minutes four times so far this season.