Elon, N.C – The Elon University lacrosse team will conclude a two-game home stand by hosting CAA foe Monmouth in the conference opener Saturday at 12:00 p.m. for the team's annual Morgan's Message game.
WHAT IS MORGAN'S MESSAGE?
- Morgan Rodgers was a lacrosse player at Duke who died by suicide in 2019. Just before her sophomore year at Duke, she suffered a knee injury and struggled with this abrupt change of losing control.
- Morgan's Message strives to eliminate the stigma surrounding mental health within the student-athlete community. They aim to expand the dialogue on mental health by normalizing conversations, empowering those who suffer in silence, and supporting those who feel alone.
- For more information, please CLICK HERE.
HOW TO FOLLOW
- Live stats are available by CLICKING HERE
- The game will be broadcasted on FloSports for a subscription fee. To watch Saturday's game, please CLICK HERE
- Follow the official social media accounts of Elon Lacrosse:
- Twitter - @ElonWLax
- Instagram - @ElonWLax
ABOUT MONMOUTH
- Monmouth is 4-3 on the season, with two of those losses coming to top 25 teams Rutgers and Princeton.
- The Hawks went 9-8 a year ago, including a 3-4 record in CAA play. Last season was Monmouth's first season in the conference.
- Monmouth was picked sixth in the CAA Preseason Poll for the 2024 season.
- As a team, the Hawks have a stout defense led by their goalies, as they rank 11th in the country in save percentage at .509.
- The Hawks are led by Jordan Trautman, a former Georgetown All-American. Trautman was named as Monmouth's sixth head women's lacrosse coach in the summer of 2017. Trautman guided Monmouth into its first season in the CAA in 2023 and led the team to a 9-8 overall record, including seven victories at their home field, Kessler Stadium.
- In their inaugural CAA season, midfielder Cassidy Orban was named First Team All-CAA while attacker Caroline Brennan and defender Brianna Falco took home Second Team All-CAA honors. Attacker Shea Berigan secured a spot on the CAA All-Rookie Team.
- Caroline Breannan was recognized as part of the Preseason All-CAA Women's Lacrosse team, as voted on by the league's head coaches. Brennan is entering her third season at Monmouth. On attack, Brennan led the team with 58 points on 38 goals and 20 assists, she ranked among the top 10 in the CAA for goals per game (2.24), assists per game (1.18) and points per game (3.41). Brennan, a native of Downingtown, Pa., had 13 multi-goal games, including five hat tricks.
SERIES HISTORY
- Elon and Monmouth are meeting for the second time with Monmouth leading the series 1-0.
- The two programs faced each other for the first time at Monmouth in 2023 with the Hawks coming away with a 12-11 victory.
- Elon was ahead 5-1 after one quarter a year ago and still held an 11-10 lead with five minutes remaining in regulation. The Hawks scored the final two goals just 26 seconds apart for the victory.
LAST TIME OUT
- Elon rallied back from a five-goal deficit against High Point, but the Panthers held off the charging Phoenix by the score of 12-11 Wednesday evening at Rudd Field. It was the second consecutive season in which the two Triad rivals played a one-goal game with Elon winning at High Point a year ago.
- High Point scored the first three goals of the game before Kaitlyn Michaud and Mia Zebley recorded Elon goals to make it 3-2.
- The Panthers answered back with another three-goal run but Mackenzie Coleman scored her first career goal late in the first, with an assist from Zebley, to make it 6-3.
- Michaud scored her second goal of the game early in the second quarter, but High Point scored three of the first four in the period and led 9-4.
- Sammy Fisher scored late in the first half to make it 9-5 at the midway point.
- Elon cut into the deficit in the third quarter behind an Anna Hackett goal and two more Michaud scores, but High Point went into the fourth with an 11-8 advantage.
- Michaud posted her fifth goal of the night early in the fourth and then scored her sixth with 8:05 to go to get Elon within one at 11-10.
- Neither team could score over the next five minutes until High Point took a 12-10 lead with 2:49 to play. Hackett recorded her second goal of the night with 12 seconds remaining, but it was not enough.
- After being out of the lineup for a month due to injury, Kaitlyn Michaud returned to post a career-high six goals. In just three games this year, she has 11 goals and two assists.
- Freshman Reagan Kuehn added a caused turnover, extending her career-opening eight-game streak with at least one caused turnover.
- Caitlin Walsh tied her season-high with three ground balls.
- Returning from an injury that kept her out of Elon's last game, Kailee Follette tied her career-high with three caused turnovers.
- MJ Santa Barbara had nine draw controls, giving her 72 on the season, just seven shy of tying the program record.
- Elon held a 17-9 advantage on draw controls, which helped the Phoenix generate a 34-21 advantage in shots and 23-17 in shots on goal.
RACKING UP ROOKIE OF THE WEEK AWARDS
- 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.
- Freshman MJ Santa Barbara was named CAA Player of the Week on March 4 after leading a record-breaking night in the draw control circle for the Phoenix. She finished with 10 draw controls, and as a team, helped Elon hold a 22-5 advantage in the draw circle. The +17 difference was the largest in program history.
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 9.0 draw controls per game, most in the CAA, and No. 6 in the country.
- Elon holds a .637-win percentage in draws in 2024, ranking No. 7 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 236-195 this year and outscored opponents 89-88.
BALANCED OFFENSE
- Thirteen different players have scored at least one goal in 2024, 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 six 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, Fisher led the way with a hat trick.
- Against ECU, Fisher led the way again with five goals. At Virginia Tech, Fisher and Hackett led the way with two apiece, and Buoscio, McKenna, and Vandiver each added one goal.
- Against High Point, Michaud returned from an injury and led the way again for the Phoenix, scoring a career-high six goals.
- Hackett leads the way for the Phoenix with 18 goals, with Fisher right behind her with 15 goals. Hopson is third with 14 goals. Michaud has 11 goals in just three games played. Vandiver adds nine, and Busocio and McKenna have five each.
CONTROLLING THE CLEAR
- Elon ranks No. 8 in the country in clearing percentage at .926 on the season, ranking second in the CAA, only behind Hofstra at .928
- The Phoenix has been perfect on clears three times this season -- in games against Old Dominion, Coastal Carolina and East Carolina.
- With the .926 clear percentage (113-of-122), Elon is on pace to break its program record for a single season of .889, set in 2020.
RECORD WATCHING
- Even though the 2024 season has not even reached conference play yet, Elon has some program records in sight.
- MJ Santa Barbara has 72 draw controls through the first eight games of 2024. She is just seven shy of tying the program record of 79 in a single-season. Santa Barbara has already shattered the freshman record for draw controls, which was 52.
- Elon's .926 team clear percentage is on pace to break the program record of .889 in a season, set in 2020.
- Elon's .637 win percentage in the draw circle is pacing ahead of the program record .620 win percentage from 2020.
ELON AMONG THE CAA LEADERS
Listed below are Elon's ranks within the CAA heading into conference play:
TEAM RANKINGS (TOP THREE)
- Draw Controls - t1. Elon 16.00/game
- Women-Up Goals - 2. Elon 2.38/game
INDIVIDUAL RANKINGS (TOP FIVE)
ELON AMONG THE NCAA LEADERS
Listed below are Elon's ranks within the NCAA through their first eight games:
TEAM RANKINGS (TOP 25)
- Draw Control Percentage - 7. Elon .637
- Draw Controls/Game - t20 Elon 16.0
- Clearing Percentage - 8. Elon .926
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 --
