Richmond, Va. – The Elon University lacrosse team rounds out its three-game road trip to open the 2024 season this weekend, taking on Atlantic 10 opponent VCU Saturday at 2:00 p.m. Elon enters the game at 1-1 on the season, while the Rams are 0-1 following a season-opening defeat to Virginia Tech.
HOW TO FOLLOW
- Live stats are available by CLICKING HERE.
- Saturday's game will be available on ESPN+. To watch, please CLICK HERE.
- Follow the official social media accounts of Elon Lacrosse:
- Twitter - @ElonWLax
- Instagram - @ElonWLax
ABOUT VCU
- VCU is 0-1 on the season, losing the season opener on the road to Virginia Tech 10-5.
- The Rams went 8-9 a year ago, including a 4-5 record in Atlantic 10 play. The eight wins set a program record for wins in a season.
- The Rams were picked to finish fifth in the A-10 preseason rankings in 2024.
- Kelsey McDonnell was named to the All-Atlantic 10 Second Team in 2023, scoring 43 goals and five assists.
- Junior goalkeeper Ahnika Eberl was named the Atlantic 10 Defensive Player of the Week for her performance against Virginia Tech in their first game. Eberl made her first career start, and recorded 11 saves on 21 shot attempts, equating to a save percentage of .524 during the contest.
SERIES HISTORY
- Elon and VCU are meeting for the fourth consecutive season with the Phoenix holding a 2-1 lead in the series.
- The two programs faced each other for the first time in 2021 with Elon winning 19-3 on Rudd Field.
- Last year VCU came out on top with a 9-8 overtime win on Rudd Field.
LAST TIME OUT
- Elon lost a hard-fought contest against Queens Wednesday, falling 15-10.
- Trailing for most of the night, Elon came back to tie the game at 9-9 to close out the third quarter.
- Tied at 9-9 heading into the fourth quarter, Queens scored three straight. Elon tried to rally, getting a goal from Anna Hackett, but the Royals closed out the contest with three more in a row.
- Elon dominated the draw circle with a 19-10 edge. That comes one game after winning the draw circle 19-6 against Old Dominion.
- Elon's 10 goals came from five different goal-scorers. Sammy Fisher, Mia Zebley, Anna Hackett, Cierra Hopson and Mikaela Buoscio scored two apiece.
- After tying Elon's single-game record with 12 draw controls in her collegiate debut to open the season, freshman MJ Santa Barbara had 11 draw controls against Queens.
- Goalkeeper Caitlin Walsh led Elon with three groundballs while making a season-high 11 saves for Elon.
- Queens had a 36-31 advantage in shots and 26-18 in shots on goal.
- Elon's 26 goals over the first two games of the season are the most for the program to begin a campaign since the 2017 team also scored 26 in the first two games.
MAGNIFICENT MICHAUD
- Kaitlyn Michaud scored five goals in the season opener against Old Dominion, surpassing her previous career-best of two goals in a game, with all of her goals coming in the first three quarters.
- In the first quarter, Michaud scored the first goal of the season for Elon less than three minutes into the game. With her in the circle, the Phoenix has won the possession battle on draws 19-6 against Old Dominion and 19-10 against Queens.
- With the game tied 1-1, Michaud added her second goal of the game just under 10 minutes into the game to give the Phoenix a 2-1 lead. Elon never looked back and led for the remainder of the game.
MJ IN THE DC
- Freshman MJ Santa Barbara has made an immediate positive impact for Elon in the draw circle in 2024.
- Santa Barbara is averaging 11.5 draw controls per game, most in the CAA.
- Elon holds a .704 win percentage in draws through the first two games of 2024, among the top ten in the country. A year ago, the Phoenix had just a .451 win percentage and Elon has not been above 50 percent since 2021 (.523). Elon's best single-season draw record came in the COVID-shortened 2020 season when the Phoenix had a win rate of .620.
- In the end, winning in the draw circle gets the Phoenix more possessions, more shots, and ultimately more goals. Elon has outshot opponents 65-48 this year and outscored opponents 26-21.
ELON AMONG THE CAA LEADERS
Listed below are Elon's ranks within the CAA through the second week of the regular season:
TEAM RANKINGS (TOP THREE)
- Shots on Goal – 2. Elon 24.5/game
- Goals – 3. Elon 13.0/game
- Shots – 2. Elon 32.5/game
- Ground Balls - 2. Elon 14.0/game
- Caused Turnovers - 3. Elon 9.0/game
- Draw Controls - 2. Elon 19.0/game
INDIVIDUAL RANKINGS (TOP FIVE)
ELON AMONG THE NCAA LEADERS
Listed below are Elon's ranks within the NCAA through the second week of the regular season:
TEAM RANKINGS (TOP 25)
- Clearing Percentage - 22. Elon .933
- Draw Control Percentage - 8. Elon .704
- Draw Controls/Game - 11. Elon 19.0
INDIVIDUAL RANKINGS (TOP 25)
HACKETT EARNS CAA PRESEASON RECOGNITION
- Sophomore midfielder Anna Hackett was named to the 2024 CAA Women's Lacrosse Preseason All-Conference honorable mention team.
- Hackett played in all 16 games a year ago, starting each game. She finished second on the team with 32 goals and 34 points.
- She also set a program record by scoring hat tricks in five straight games during one stretch, ending the year with seven total games of three goals or more.
- Hackett ranked 15th nationally with a .625 free-position conversion rate (10-of-16) and was No. 67 in the country with a shot percentage of .508
- Hackett's 10 free-position goals were tied for second most in program history by a freshman and her 32 goals were fifth-most by a rookie.
TEAM CAPTAINS NAMED
- Head Coach Josh Hexter has named seniors Mikaela Buoscio, Kailee Follette, and Alex Belveal, along with junior Cierra Hopson as captains for the 2024 season.
- Buoscio is going into her third straight season as a captain. In 2023, Buoscio led the team with 15 caused turnovers and was fifth with 17 ground balls, and also had seven draw controls. She also tied the program record with seven caused turnovers in last year's season opener against Old Dominion. On the offensive side, she finished the year with four goals with nine shots on goal.
- Follette will be a team captain for the second consecutive season. She was tied for the team lead with 27 ground balls, adding 17 draw controls and seven caused turnovers in 2023.
- Belveal will be a first time captain after stepping into a bigger role in the 2023 season, playing and starting in all 16 games. She had 10 ground balls and six caused turnovers, committing just three turnovers on the season.
- Hopson played and started in all 16 games in 2023. She led the team with 34 goals, 11 assists and 45 points. She also had a team-high 74 shots and 56 shots on goal.
NEWCOMERS
- Elon welcomes 13 freshmen to the 2024 team, including four attackers, five midfielders, three defenders, and one goalie.
-- ELON --
