Elon, N.C. – After concluding a three-game season-opening road trip with a 2-1 record, the Elon lacrosse team will be back on Rudd Field for the home opener against Furman on Wednesday at 5:00 p.m. to take on the Paladins. The contest is the first of two consecutive home games for the Phoenix.
The first 50 students at Wednesday's game will receive free pizza!
HOW TO FOLLOW
- Live stats are available by CLICKING HERE
- The game will be broadcasted on FloSports. To watch the game, CLICK HERE
- Follow the official social media accounts of Elon Lacrosse:
- Twitter - @ElonWLax
- Instagram - @ElonWLax
ABOUT FURMAN
- Furman is 1-1 on the season, losing the season opener at home to No. 21 Clemson 11-5 and winning the second game against Kennesaw State 19-15, also at home.
- The Paladins went 10-8 a year ago, including a 7-2 record in Big South play. Entering their third season in the Big South Conference, Furman finished tied for second in the conference standings a year ago. For the second straight year, Furman advanced to the semifinals of the Big South Women's Lacrosse Tournament.
- Furman was picked third in the Big South Preseason Poll for the 2024 season.
- Senior defender Katelyn Sousa earned Preseason Defensive Player of the Year honors, as voted on by the league's head coaches. She led the team with 27 caused turnovers and was fourth with 28 ground balls. Sousa also contributed eight draws and one goal.
- Sousa was also voted preseason all-conference along with fifth-year midfielder Hannah Dintino and junior attack Anna Roser.
- Lauren Farber is serving as the interim head coach for the Furman women's lacrosse program in 2024. Farber was a four-year letterwinner for Furman from 2019-2022. A 2022 first team All-Big South selection, she appeared in 50 games throughout her career and registered 27 starts. Farber finished with 61 points on 47 goals and 14 assists. She currently ranks 10th all-time at Furman with 73 draws.
- Anna Roser scored a school record nine goals on Sunday to propel Furman to its first win of the season in a 19-15 victory over Kennesaw State.
SERIES HISTORY
- Elon and Furman are meeting for the third time with the Phoenix holding a 2-0 lead in the series.
- The two programs faced each other for the first time in 2021 with Elon winning 13-9 on Rudd Field.
- In 2022 Elon came out on top with a 21-9 win in Greenville, S.C.
LAST TIME OUT
- Elon rallied for its largest comeback in program history, overcoming a five-goal deficit to defeat VCU on the road Saturday, 12-11.
- Elon concluded its three-game road swing to open the 2024 season with a 2-1 record.
- Elon trailed 6-1 after the first quarter, a score that remained until Ana Lee Vandiver scored with 13:43 remaining in the second.
- In a game of runs, Elon trailed 6-1 after one quarter, took a 7-6 lead into the half and then trailed 9-7 in the third. The Phoenix scored five straight over the course of the rest of the third and into the fourth to get the 12-11 victory.
- For the second straight game, Elon entered the fourth quarter tied at 9-9. Wednesday at Queens, the Royals were able to score the first three goals of the final period to take control, but Elon flipped the script Saturday.
- Earning her first career start, Vandiver finished with six goals and an assist for Elon. They are the first points of her young career and the six goals were just one shy of the program record.
- Elon won in the draw circle for the third straight game to open the 2024 season. The Phoenix held a narrow 14-13 advantage and has a .642 team draw percentage this year.
- Elon outshot VCU 30-22 but each team had 20 shots on goal.
- The Phoenix held the edge in ground balls 17-13 and in caused turnovers, 11-8.
VANDIVER NAMED CAA ROOKIE OF THE WEEK
- Redshirt freshman Ana Lee Vandiver was named CAA Rookie of the Week on Feb. 19 after finishing with six goals and an assist for Elon in their comeback win against VCU on Saturday. The six goals were just one shy of the program record.
- Vandiver's six goals came on just seven shots, scoring on all six shots on goal. She scored three goals during a second quarter comeback in which Elon outscored Furman 6-0 to overcome a 6-1 first quarter deficit.
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 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 10.33 draw controls per game, most in the CAA and fifth in the country. In fact, she is third among individuals who have played more than one game this year.
- Elon holds a .642 win percentage in draws through the first three games of 2024, ranking No. 13 in the country and first in the CAA. A year ago, the Phoenix had just a .451 win percentage (ranking No. 92 of 120 teams) 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.
- Elon's 17.33 draw control wins per game rank No. 17 in the country and are second in the CAA.
- In the end, winning in the draw circle gets the Phoenix more possessions, more shots, and ultimately more goals. Elon has outshot opponents 95-70 this year and outscored opponents 38-32.
ELON AMONG THE CAA LEADERS
Listed below are Elon's ranks within the CAA through three games:
TEAM RANKINGS (TOP THREE)
- Shots on Goal – 1. Elon 23.0/game
- Goals – 2. Elon 12.67/game
- Shots – 1. Elon 31.67/game
- Ground Balls - 1. Elon 15.0/game
- Caused Turnovers - 1. Elon 9.67/game
- Draw Controls - 1. Elon 17.33/game
INDIVIDUAL RANKINGS (TOP FIVE)
ELON AMONG THE NCAA LEADERS
Listed below are Elon's ranks within the NCAA through three games:
TEAM RANKINGS (TOP 25)
- Draw Control Percentage - 13. Elon .642
- Draw Controls/Game - 17. Elon 17.33
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 --
