Elon, N.C – The Elon University lacrosse team will continue conference play, beginning its last home stand of the season with a home contest against William & Mary on Sunday at 12:00 p.m.
At 6-7 on the season and 2-3 in CAA play, Elon looks for a victory against one of two winless CAA teams as William & Mary enters at 4-10 overall and 0-5 in conference action.
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 WILLIAM & MARY
- William & Mary is 4-10 on the season, with an 0-5 record in conference play thus far.
- The Tribe went 8-8 a year ago, including a 3-4 record in CAA play.
- William & Mary was picked seventh out of nine teams in the CAA Preseason Poll for the 2024 season.
- As a team, the Tribe have had success on free positions, ranking 19th nationally with a 53.1 free position percentage.
- After leading the William & Mary lacrosse team to its best campaign in more than a decade, Head Coach Colleen Dawson returned for her fifth season leading the Tribe. Last spring, W&M recorded the program's best record – and the team's most conference wins – since 2011.
- Caroline Hertzberg was selected to the CAA's preseason all-conference honorable mention team, but she has not played for the Tribe in 2024.
- In goal, Marin Wilhem is averaging 7.83 saves per game, among the top 50 in the country. She has a .403 save percentage as well.
- Paige Gilbert is the team's primary offensive threat, leading William & Mary in shots and free position goals.
SERIES HISTORY
- Elon and William & Mary are meeting for the ninth time with Elon leading the series 6-2.
- The two programs last faced each other in 2023, with the Tribe coming away with an 18-7 win.
- The last time the two teams played at Rudd Field, the Phoenix pulled out a 17-12 victory.
- Elon, in fact, has not lost to William & Mary at home. The Phoenix is 3-0 all-time against the Tribe on Rudd Field.
THE CONFERENCE RACE
- Four of the nine teams in the CAA will qualify for the CAA Tournament May 2 and 4 at Stony Brook.
- Stony Brook (6-0), Hofstra (4-0) and Drexel (4-0) sit atop the CAA standings without a conference loss heading into the weekend.
- Four teams are battling for the coveted fourth spot for the CAA Tournament, including Towson (3-2), Elon (2-3), Delaware (1-3), and Monmouth (1-4).
- Elon holds any tiebreak advantage over Monmouth due to a head-to-head victory. The Phoenix closes the regular seasons with games against Delaware and Towson. If Elon wins its final three games, it will earn the No. 4 spot for the CAA Tournament.
LAST TIME OUT
- The Elon University lacrosse team never trailed, welcoming Campbell to the CAA with a 16-12 victory. It is Elon's sixth consecutive victory over Campbell, but the first as conference foes.
- Elon and Campbell combined for five goals in the first five minutes of the contest and then neither team scored in the final 10 minutes of the first quarter.
- Elon did not trail in the first as Mackenzie Coleman scored on a pass from Kaitlyn Michaud on the opening possession for a 1-0 lead.
- After Campbell tied the score, Michaud earned a goal on a pass from Kailey McKenna for a 2-1 lead.
- Campbell again tied the score but Sammy Fisher posted the final tally of the first quarter, giving Elon a 3-2 advantage through one.
- Elon started to pull away early in the second quarter as Fisher scored two more in a row for the 5-2 lead.
- Anna Hackett followed with a goal and then Michaud scored her second to make it 7-2. On Michaud's goal, freshman Reagan Kuehn earned the first assist and point of her collegiate career.
- Campbell finally stopped the run with a goal but Elon took a 9-4 lead into halftime with goals from Fisher and Cierra Hopson, on an assist from Mia Zebley.
- Elon started the scoring in the second half as Hackett posted her second goal of the game for the 10-4 lead.
- Campbell rallied with three consecutive goals to close the third quarter to make it 10-7 with one period remaining.
- Hackett stopped the momentum quickly in the fourth quarter. She scored just 19 seconds into the frame as Elon went ahead 11-7.
- Just over 30 seconds later, Hopson scored on a pass from Fisher for the 12-7 lead. The assist was Fisher's fifth point of the day.
- Following a Campbell goal, Mia Zebley became Elon's sixth different goal scorer of the day, giving the Phoenix a 13-8 advantage.
- Campbell surged late. The Camels scored three straight goals, the last coming with 3:32 to play to make it 13-11. But MJ Santa Barbara came up with her 11th draw control of the afternoon and Zebley posted a crucial goal, her second of the fourth quarter, with just 2:22 to play.
- Campbell scored on a free-position shot with 1:55 left to make it 14-12, but Fisher appropriately put the game away with a long goal into an empty net.
- Hackett posted her fourth goal on an assist from Michaud with just 56 seconds remaining. That closed the scoring at 16-12.
- The 16 goals tied a season-high for Elon. The Phoenix is 3-0, including 2-0 in CAA play, when scoring 16 goals in 2024. Elon is 6-0 on the season when scoring 12+ goals and 0-7 when scoring 11 or fewer.
- Kailee Follette added a career-best seven draw controls and those two helped Elon to a 21-10 advantage in the draw circle.
- Six different players scored goals for Elon and eight had at least one point.
- Sammy Fisher had five goals and an assist. It is her second five-goal game of the season and the second time she had six points (Fisher had five goals and two assists in a win at East Carolina). Fisher was 2-for-2 on free position shots as well.
- Anna Hackett had the third 4+ goal game of her season. It was the fourth time this year she has posted at least four points in a game. Elon is now 4-0 in those contests.
- Kaitlyn Michaud had four points (two goals and two assists) for the second straight game. She has scored at least one point in all eight games she has played in 2024 and has multiple points in seven of the contests.
- Freshman Mia Zebley tied career highs with two goals and three points.
- Freshman defender Reagan Kuehn picked up an assist for her first career point. She also had a team-high two caused turnovers.
- Elon outshot Campbell 38-28, including 25-21 on goal.
- Elon held an 11-8 advantage in ground balls and was 16-of-17 on clear attempts.
RACKING UP CAA 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.
- On March 18, Santa Barbara was named CAA Rookie of the Week for the second time. She had a record-breaking week in the draw circle, owning 24 draw controls over two games. She had nine in the midweek contest with High Point and then broke team and conference records Saturday against Monmouth. Her 15 draw controls were the most in a single-game in program history and in the history of CAA conference games. She entered the contest needing eight draw controls to break Elon's single-season record and she reached that total early in the third quarter. Following the week, she has 87 draw controls and counting in 2024.
- That wasn't all for the Phoenix, as sophomore Anna Hackett was named CAA Co-Player of the Week on March 18, after scoring six goals and adding an assist over two games during the week. After scoring twice against High Point, she had four goals and an assist in Saturday's CAA-opening victory over Monmouth. Three of Hackett's goals came in the fourth period after the Hawks had drawn to within one goal after three quarters. She scored the four goals on four shots on goal, and added two ground balls and a caused turnover during the week. Hackett is Elon's first CAA Player of the Week since Mae McGlynn earned the honor twice during the 2021 season.
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 8.85 draw controls per game, most in the CAA and No. 9 in the country.
- Elon holds a .614 win percentage in draws through the first 13 games of 2024, ranking No. 10 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.
BALANCED OFFENSE
- Thirteen different players have scored at least one goal in 2024, more than the 11 who scored a goal in 2023.
- Anna Hackett leads Elon with 29 goals on the season but three other players have scored at least 20 goals in Sammy Fisher (25), Cierra Hopson (21), and Kaitlyn Michaud (20).
- Ana Lee Vandiver (9), Mackenzie Coleman (8), Mia Zebley (8), Mikaela Buoscio (7), Kailey McKenna (6) and Bridget Kelly (5) have all shown an ability to score as well.
- In total, ten different players have at least five goals for Elon. Only William & Mary (12) and Stony Brook (11) have more players with at least five goals on the season.
- Four different players have scored at least 20 goals on the season, tied with Hofstra and Stony Brook for the most 20-goal scorers in the CAA this year.
A DOZEN IS ALL IT TAKES
- Elon has been unbeatable when scoring at least 12 goals on the season. The Phoenix is 6-0 when scoring 12+ goals this year and 0-7 when failing to reach that total.
- In the team's most recent contest, Elon scored 16, tying its season high. Elon also hit 16 goals in wins at Old Dominion and at home against Monmouth earlier in the season.
- Ana Lee Vandiver (9), Mackenzie Coleman (8), Mia Zebley (8), Mikaela Buoscio (7), Kailey McKenna (6) and Bridget Kelly (5) have all shown an ability to score as well.
- In total, ten different players have at least five goals for Elon. Only William & Mary (12) and Stony Brook (11) have more players with at least five goals on the season.
- Four different players have scored at least 20 goals on the season, tied with Hofstra and Stony Brook for the most 20-goal scorers in the CAA this year.
CONTROLLING THE CLEAR
- Elon ranks No. 26 in the country in clearing percentage at .906 on the season, ranking third in the CAA, behind only Drexel at .919 and Hofstra at .916.
- The Phoenix has been perfect on clears three times this season -- in games against Old Dominion, Coastal Carolina and East Carolina.
- With the .906 clear percentage (184-of-203), Elon is on pace to break its program record for a single season of .889, set in 2020.
RECORD WATCHING
- Even with MJ Santa Barbara shattering the single-season program record with 115 draw controls as well as the single-game record with 15 against Monmouth, Elon has more program records in sight.
- Elon's .906 team clear percentage is on pace to break the program record of .889 in a season, set in 2020.
- Elon's .614 win percentage in the draw circle is within sight of the program record .620 win percentage from 2020.
- Reagan Kuehn has 18 caused turnovers in 2024, already third-most by a freshman in program history. She is on pace to challenge the program record for a freshman of 24 set by Rachel Ramirez in 2014.
- With 100 career points, Cierra Hopson ranks fifth in program history. She needs two more points to pass Gillian Curran for fourth on the leaderboard.
- Kailee Follette has 97 career ground balls and needs two more to surpass Abby Godfrey for third in program history.
ELON AMONG THE CAA LEADERS
Listed below are Elon's ranks within the CAA:
TEAM RANKINGS (TOP THREE)
- Draw Controls - 1. Elon 16.54/game
- Women-Up Goals - 2. Elon 2.23/game
- Shots - 3. Elon 28.54/game
INDIVIDUAL RANKINGS (TOP FIVE)
ELON AMONG THE NCAA LEADERS
Listed below are Elon's ranks within the NCAA:
TEAM RANKINGS (TOP 25)
- Draw Control Percentage - 10. Elon .614
- Draw Controls/Game - 14. Elon 16.54
- Fouls/Game - 12. Elon 8.85
INDIVIDUAL RANKINGS (TOP 25)
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