Elon, N.C.- The No. 17 Elon Phoenix (8-2-1) returns to Rudd Field for the third straight game as they welcome the No. 9/18 Duke Blue Devils (4-2-3) for a Tuesday night game under the lights. Elon looks to pick up their first non-conference win since Elon bested Grand Canyon on Sep. 2.
 
Kickoff with the Blue Devils on Tuesday will be at 7 pm.
 
How to Follow

• Tuesday's game with the Blue Devils will be streamed on FloFC, and you can watch the game by CLICKING HERE. 
• Live stats will be available for the matchup with Duke 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 21^st meeting all-time between the Phoenix and the Blue Devils.
• Elon trails in the all-time series 2-15-3.
• The last Phoenix win over the Blue Devils came in 2019 when Elon downed Duke, 3-2 at Rudd Field.

 
Last Time Out

• The Phoenix bounced back after two tough losses to defeat the William & Mary Tribe, 2-1 last Saturday.
• Elon and William & Mary both traded possession and challenges for the first 15 minutes before a chance at net was had by either team.
• The first attempt of the game came from a bicycle kick effort from Charlie Kitch that was cleared away by the Tribe defense.
• The teams continued to trade set pieces before Scott Vatne fired a shot from 35 yards into the top left corner of the goal to fire the Phoenix in front, 1-0.
• Petro Klishch put the Phoenix up a pair with a crossed effort from Ryan Manna found the head of Klishch who found the back of the net.
• The teams picked up the pace in the second half with Jordin Wilson nearly finding a third to give Elon an insurmountable lead.
• After a clearance off the line by Carlos Levy in the 60^th minute, a W&M corner kick would find the back of the net off a series of deflections to halve the Elon lead.
• Elon and the Tribe continued to trade opportunities, cards and chances in the final third of the match, but neither would find the net. Tomasz Wroblewski made key saves, and the Elon defense would clear its lines to hold on to the victory.

 
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

• In the last two rankings, the Elon Phoenix have found themselves ranked in the Top 25. Ranked for the first time at #13 on September 10 and then climbing into the Top 10 for the first time since 2015. 
• 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 Duke

• Duke was picked 7^th in the ACC Preseason poll, projected to be in the middle of the ACC standings by the coaches.
• Ruben Mesalles was the lone Blue Devil delected to the all-ACC preseason team.
• The Blue Devils enter the matchup with the Phoenix with a 4-2-3 record and the number nine ranking in the Top Drawer Soccer poll.
• Adam Luckhurst and Ulfur Bjornsson lead the way on the scoring front, both with at least seven goals.
• Wessel Speel has started all nine games in net for Duke, averaging 1.65 goals per game with 19 saves.
• John Kerr is in his 16^th season with the Blue Devils. Kerr, a former Hermann Trophy winner captained the Blue Devils to the 1986 national championship.

 
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.