Elon, N.C – After splitting a home stand last week, the Elon lacrosse team, now 3-2 in 2024, will be back on the road for a two-game swing, starting at 3-1 East Carolina Wednesday at 5:00 p.m. to take on the Pirates in Greenville, N.C.
HOW TO FOLLOW
- Live stats are available by CLICKING HERE
- The game will be broadcasted on Pirates All-Access. To watch Saturday's game, please CLICK HERE
- Follow the official social media accounts of Elon Lacrosse:
- Twitter - @ElonWLax
- Instagram - @ElonWLax
ABOUT EAST CAROLINA
- East Carolina is 3-1 on the season, with the lone loss coming on the road against a ranked Navy team.
- The Pirates went 10-8 a year ago, including a 3-3 record in American Athletic Conference play.
- ECU was picked fourth in the AAC Preseason Poll for the 2024 season.
- Graduate student Frances Kimel was a unanimous Preseason All-Conference selection and leads ECU with 18 points in 2024. Her nine assists rank among the top 25 nationally.
- Defensively, Ellie Bromley averages 2.25 caused turnovers per game, No. 23 nationally.
- As a team, ECU is dangerous on the free position, scoring at a 52.4 percent clip. The Pirates' 18.5 ground balls per game are No. 26 in the country.
- Brittany Dipper was named head coach of the East Carolina lacrosse program in July, 2023. Dipper took over at ECU after one season as an assistant coach at the University of Virginia. The Cavaliers posted an 11-7 overall record (6-3 conference) in 2023 and advanced to the NCAA tournament. Dipper also spent four seasons at Elon, aiding the Phoenix to a 35-33 record while also working her way to the associate head coaching position in 2017. That 2017 squad compiled a program-best 13-7 record while defeating three-ranked opponents en route to a CAA Tournament finals appearance.
SERIES HISTORY
- Elon and ECU are meeting for the second time, with the Pirates winning the only game in the series.
- The two programs faced each other for the first time last year with ECU winning 16-11 at Rudd.
LAST TIME OUT
- For the third consecutive year, the Elon and Coastal Carolina women's lacrosse teams played a game decided by one goal with the Chanticleers coming out on top 8-7 Saturday at Rudd Field.
- Coastal Carolina took a 2-1 lead after a low scoring first period with Sammy Fisher scoring the lone Elon goal on an assist from Ana Lee Vandiver.
- The Phoenix, though, turned the tables by outscoring Coastal 3-1 in the second period. Vandiver and Fisher scored back-to-back to put Elon ahead for the first time.
- After Coastal Carolina tied the score, Maddie Engelkraut put Elon ahead 4-3 at the break on a goal with 2:59 remaining.
- Elon took the only two-goal advantage of the game midway through the third when Anna Hackett put the Phoenix ahead 5-3. Coastal Carolina, though, answered with a pair of goals in less than a minute to tie it.
- Late in the third, Fisher scored her third goal of the contest to put Elon ahead 6-5 going into the fourth.
- After CCU tied the game early in the fourth, Mikaela Buoscio put Elon back ahead on an assist from Cierra Hopson with 12:24 to go. The Chanticleers closed out the scoring on goals with 7:10 and 5:20 to play for the 8-7 win.
- Freshman Reagan Kuehn tied her career-high with four ground balls and she added two caused turnovers.
- Jessie Penner led Elon with three caused turnovers.
- Elon outshot Coastal Carolina 22-19 and both teams had 14 shots on goal.
- For the fifth straight game, Elon led in the draw circle, winning 12-of-18 draws.
- Elon has led or tied in the fourth quarter in every game this year.
VANDIVER NAMED PLAYER OF THE WEEK
- Redshirt freshman Ana Lee Vandiver was named CAA Player 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 9.2 draw controls per game, most in the CAA and No. 5 nationally.
- Elon holds a .628 win percentage in draws through the first five 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 149-111 this year and outscored opponents 58-49.
KUEHN CREATING CAUSED TURNOVERS
- Another freshman, Reagan Kuehn is beginning to make a name for herself defensively.
- The Towson, Md. native has a team-high nine caused turnovers on the season, ranking second in the CAA. She trails only defending CAA Defensive Player of the Year Madison Hranicka of Delaware.
- Kuehn has had at least one turnover in each of the first five games, including a career-best three against VCU.
- She has also added 11 ground balls in 2024, second on the team.
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 five 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. Against Coastal Carolina, Fisher led the way with a hat trick.
- Hackett leads Elon with 11 goals, but Hopson adds 10, Vandiver eight, Fisher seven, Michaud five and Buoscio and Kailey McKenna have four apiece.
FINDING OUR GROOVE IN THE SECOND QUARTER
- Elon has trailed after one quarter in each of its last three games, but the Phoenix has outscored its opponents 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.
- Against Coastal, Elon trailed 2-1 after one but took a 4-3 halftime lead after outscoring CCU 3-1 in the second quarter.
- In total, Elon has outscored opponents 15-1 in the second quarter of the last three games and 21-8 in that frame during the 2024 season.
ELON AMONG THE CAA LEADERS
Listed below are Elon's ranks within the CAA heading into the third week of the regular season:
TEAM RANKINGS (TOP THREE)
- Shots – 3. Elon 29.8/game
- Draw Controls - 3. Elon 15.2/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 - 10. Elon .628
- Clearing Percentage - 17. Elon .931
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 --
