Elon, N.C – After a successful home opener Wednesday night against Furman, the Elon lacrosse team will be back on Rudd Field for another home game against Coastal Carolina on Saturday at 1:00 p.m. to take on the Chanticleers for Rock n' Roll at Rudd. The contest is the second of two consecutive home games for the Phoenix as Elon looks for a three-game win streak and a 4-1 record to open 2024.
There will be a photo booth at the game, rock music throughout, and a halftime air guitar contest!
HOW TO FOLLOW
- Live stats are available by CLICKING HERE
- The game will be broadcasted on FloSports. To watch Saturday's game, please CLICK HERE.
- Follow the official social media accounts of Elon Lacrosse:
- Twitter - @ElonWLax
- Instagram - @ElonWLax
ABOUT COASTAL CAROLINA
- Coastal is 1-3 on the season, with their lone win coming at home against Wofford.
- The Chanticleers went 12-7 a year ago, including a 4-3 record in Atlantic Sun play. The Chanticleers finished third in the conference standings, and advanced to the semifinals of the ASUN Women's Lacrosse Championship.
- Coastal was picked third in the ASUN Poll for the 2024 season.
- Senior midfielder Avery McIlwaine was a unanimous selection for the 2024 Preseason All-ASUN Team. In 2023, she appeared and started in all 19 games for the Chanticleers. She had a career-high of 35 goals and 19 assists while scooping up 19 groundballs. She also contributed 47 draw control wins and was named the 2023 ASUN Midfielder of the Year.
- Graduate student defender Jordan Gertz also earned a spot on the 2024 Preseason All-ASUN Team. Last season Gertz started in all 19 games. She grabbed 26 groundballs and had 12 caused turnovers while being selected to the ASUN All-Conference Team.
- Rachel Shuck Whitten was named the third head women's lacrosse coach in program history in August 2021. Whitten took over the Coastal Carolina program after nine years and seven seasons at the helm of the Furman women's lacrosse program, starting the program as their first head coach in May 2012.
SERIES HISTORY
- Elon and Coastal are meeting for the 10th time with the Phoenix holding an 8-1 lead in the series.
- The two programs faced each other for the first time in 2014 with Elon winning 12-10 on the road.
- In 2023 Elon narrowly came out on top with a 16-15 win in Conway, S.C. The last two games between the two programs have been decided by one goal, with Coastal Carolina winning in overtime in 2022.
LAST TIME OUT
- Playing in its first home game of the season, the Elon University women's lacrosse team got a season high four goals from junior captain Cierra Hopson and a season-high eight goal scorers, along with a strong defensive effort in a 13-9 win over Furman Wednesday evening.
- Elon trailed 3-2 after the first quarter, but Hopson scored within the first minute of the second quarter to tie the game up at three.
- After trailing to end the first quarter, a huge second quarter turned the game around and spurred Elon. The Phoenix outscored Furman 6-0 in the quarter to head into halftime with an 8-3 lead.
- This is the second game in a row in which Elon has won the second quarter 6-0. In that second quarter, Hopson scored all four of her goals, while Ana Lee Vandiver scored one and Anna Hackett also scored once.
- Furman rebounded to start the third quarter, cutting the lead to 9-5. But Lila Ceribelli scored the first goal of her career with 9:34 left in the third to put the Phoenix back up by five.
- Heading into the fourth quarter up 11-7, each team scored twice in the final period.
- Hackett scored her second goal of the evening less than three minutes into the quarter. Bridget Kelly iced it with just 1:16 remaining to give Elon their 13th and final goal of the night.
- Elon won its home opener for the first time since a 6-5 win over James Madison in 2021. In total, the Phoenix is 7-4 in home openers in the program's history.
- Elon won in the draw circle for the fourth straight game to open the 2024 season. The Phoenix held a narrow 12-10 advantage.
- Elon's 51 goals through the first four games are the most for the program since scoring 53 in the first four games of 2017.
- Maddie Englekraut scored her first career goal early in the first quarter. Ceribelli scored the first goal of her career in the third quarter, while Kelly scored her first goal of the season late in the fourth quarter.
- Elon outshot Furman 32-22, including holding a 21-14 advantage in shots on goal.
- The Phoenix held the edge in ground balls 18-16 and in caused turnovers, 7-5.
- Elon has now tied or led in the fourth quarter of every game this year.
VANDIVER NAMED 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.
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 9.5 draw controls per game, most in the CAA and No. 5 nationally. Her 38 total draw controls ranks first in the country. Santa Barbera has had at least seven draw controls in every game this year.
- Elon holds a .621 win percentage in draws through the first four games of 2024, ranking No. 16 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 127-92 this year and outscored opponents 51-41.
BALANCED OFFENSE
- Twelve different players have scored at least one goal in 2024, already more than the 11 who scored a goal in all of 2023.
- Elon has had seven players lead, or tie for the team lead, in goals scored over the course of the first four games.
- Anna Hackett and Kaitlyn Michaud each scored five goals in the win over Old Dominion, while five players tied with two goals each against Queens – Sammy Fisher, Mia Zebley, Hackett, Cierra Hopson and Mikaela Buoscio.
- In the win over VCU, Ana Lee Vandiver had a team-high six goals and Hopson posted four in the victory over Furman.
- Hackett and Hopson lead Elon with 10 goals each, but Vandiver adds seven, Michaud five and Fisher and Kailey McKenna have four apiece.
FINDING OUR GROOVE IN THE SECOND QUARTER
- Elon has trailed after one quarter in each of its last two games, but the Phoenix has outscored its opponents 6-0 in the second quarter in each of those contests.
- Against VCU, Elon mounted the largest comeback in program history after trailing 6-1 after one. The 6-0 second quarter gave the Phoenix a halftime lead.
- Against Furman, Elon trailed 3-2 after one but took control of the game with the 6-0 second quarter.
- In total, Elon has scored 12 consecutive second quarter goals and has outscored opponents 18-7 in that frame during the 2024 season.
ELON AMONG THE CAA LEADERS
Listed below are Elon's ranks within the CAA through four games:
TEAM RANKINGS (TOP THREE)
- Shots on Goal – 3. Elon 22.5/game
- Goals – 3. Elon 12.75/game
- Shots – 3. Elon 31.75/game
- Ground Balls - 3. Elon 15.75/game
- Draw Controls - t1. Elon 16.0/game
INDIVIDUAL RANKINGS (TOP FIVE)
ELON AMONG THE NCAA LEADERS
Listed below are Elon's ranks within the NCAA:
TEAM RANKINGS (TOP 40)
- Caused Turnovers/Game – 35. Elon 9.0
- Clearing Percentage – 33. Elon .913
- Draw Control Percentage - 16. Elon .621
- Draw Controls/Game - 24. Elon 16.00
- Shots/Game – 31. Elon 31.75
- Win Percentage – 31. Elon .750
INDIVIDUAL RANKINGS (TOP 40)
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 --
