Elon, N.C – The Elon lacrosse team (7-7, 3-3 CAA) will play its last home game of the 2024 season against Delaware (9-5, 2-4 CAA) at Rudd Field for Senior Day, Saturday at 12:00 p.m. Both teams are still in contention for the final spot in the CAA Tournament with just two conference games remaining.
Prior to the game, Elon will recognize five seniors –
Alex Belveal,
Mikaela Buoscio,
Kailee Follette,
Bridget Kelly, and
Kaitlyn Michaud.
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 DELAWARE
- Delaware is 9-5 on the season, with a 2-4 record in conference play thus far, and is one of the teams the Phoenix is battling for the fourth and final spot in the conference tournament.
- The Blue Hens went 8-8 a year ago, including a 4-3 record in CAA play.
- Delaware was picked fourth out of nine teams in the CAA Preseason Poll for the 2024 season.
- Fifth-year defender Madison Hranicka was the CAA Defensive Player of the Year in 2023. She has picked up where she left off a year ago, ranking second in the country with 3.79 caused turnovers per game and 4.21 ground balls per contest.
- Midfielder Lizzie Yurchak also received recognition in 2023, being named second team all-conference. She has started all 14 games this season with 13 goals and six assists.
- As a team, led by goalkeeper Steph Marszal, the Blue Hens have had success defensively, ranking 14th nationally with a 47.9 save percentage. Delaware also ranks 23rd in caused turnovers, averaging 9.86 per game, and 33rd in ground balls per game, with 16.86 per game.
- Amy Altig was named the seventh coach in University of Delaware women's lacrosse program history on June 3, 2019. Altig came to Newark following nine seasons at Penn State University, where she spent time as an assistant coach and most recently as the program's associate head coach. Delaware is 25-33 in her five years and 9-11 in conference play. This season's nine victories are the most in Altig's tenure.
SERIES HISTORY
- Elon and Delaware are meeting for the ninth time, with the series tied 4-4.
- The two programs last faced each other in 2023, with the Blue Hens squeaking out a 12-11 win on Rudd Field. In that contest, the Blue Hens scored with five seconds remaining to break the tie.
- Elon last beat Delaware in 2019 at home with a narrow 9-8 victory.
- The Phoenix is 3-2 at home against Delaware.
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 (7-0), Hofstra (6-0) and Drexel (5-1) have all clinched a spot in the conference tournament.
- Three teams are battling for the coveted fourth spot for the CAA Tournament, including Towson (3-3), Elon (3-3) and Delaware (2-4).
- The Phoenix closes the season with games against both Delaware and Towson. Regardless of the result of Saturday's game against Delaware, Elon would remain in contention for the final spot heading into the last weekend of the regular season.
LAST TIME OUT
- The Elon University lacrosse team scored a season-high 18 goals to earn a pivotal 18-11 Coastal Athletic Association victory over William & Mary Sunday on Rudd Field. Elon improved to 7-7 overall and 3-3 in league play with the win, while William & Mary fell to 4-11 overall and 0-6 in conference play. The Phoenix won back-to-back league games for the first time since 2021 and moved into a tie with Towson in the race for the fourth and final CAA Tournament spot.
- Elon set a program record by scoring nine free position goals in the contest, scoring those on 12 free position shots.
- Elon scored five goals in the first 11 minutes of action, building an early 5-1 lead. Mackenzie Coleman opened the scoring and then Anna Hackett scored a woman-up goal with 9:57 left in the first quarter for a 2-0 lead.
- After William & Mary cut the deficit in half, Elon got three consecutive goals from Kaitlyn Michaud, Cierra Hopson and Sammy Fisher.
- William & Mary weathered the storm by scoring twice just 31 seconds apart late in the first quarter and Elon led 5-3 after one.
- The two teams traded goals in the second, beginning with Hackett's second of the contest. After a Tribe goal, Mia Zebley put Elon ahead by three again at 7-4. William & Mary answered but Hackett got the hat trick with just nine seconds left in the half for the 8-5 lead.
- William & Mary held Elon scoreless over the first nine minutes of the third quarter and clawed to within one at 8-7 with 6:19 to play in the period. But that opened up Elon's offensive efforts.
- The Phoenix scored the next five goals, including three of the final 5:11 of the third. Fisher had a pair of goals and Bridget Kelly scored once as Elon led 11-7 going into the fourth.
- Zebley and Kaitlin Michaud both added early fourth quarter goals for the 13-7 advantage but William & Mary answered quickly to make it 13-8.
- Michaud, Zebley and Fisher scored in a flurry over a span of 104 seconds to make it 16-8.
- Zebley picked up her career-high fourth goal with 5:24 left and Gwen Eilender got her first career goal with 2:41 remaining on an assist from Hopson. William & Mary scored three times late for the final 18-11 score.
- Elon's nine free position goals were two more than the previous program record of seven, set against High Point in 2018. Anna Hackett, Mia Zebley and Kaitlyn Michaud were both 2-for-2 on free positions, while Mackenzie Coleman, Bridget Kelly and Cierra Hopson each added a free position goal.
- Hackett now has 12 free position goals on the season and 22 in her two-year career. The 12 this year are just two shy of the program record and the 22 in her career are fourth-most at Elon.
- Zebley entered Sunday's contest with eight goals on the season but had a career-high four in the contest on just four shots.
- Gwen Eilender became Elon's 14th different player to score a goal this season.
- Elon's 18 goals are the most for a Phoenix team in a single-game since a 19-9 win over Winthrop in 2022. It is the most for Elon in a conference game since defeating Drexel 18-13 in 2018.
- Elon has won back-to-back CAA games for the first time since defeating James Madison and William & Mary to open conference play in 2021.
- Hackett and Jessie Penner led Elon with three ground balls each. Hackett, Penner and Kaitlyn Michaud had two caused turnovers apiece.
- MJ Santa Barbara had 13 draw controls and Kailee Follette added six as Elon dominated in the circle by a count of 23-8.
- That draw circle advantage allowed Elon to outshoot William & Mary 30-22, including 25-19 on goal.
- Elon improved to 7-0 on the season when scoring 12 or more goals in a game.
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 9.14 draw controls per game, most in the CAA and seventh in the country.
- Elon holds a .625 win percentage in draws through the first 14 games of 2024, ranking seventh in the nation. 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.
- Santa Barbara broke the CAA single-season draws record in just 14 games as a freshman, with 128 draw controls.
BALANCED OFFENSE
A DOZEN IS ALL IT TAKES
- Elon has been unbeatable when scoring at least 12 goals on the season. The Phoenix is 7-0 when scoring 12+ goals this year and 0-7 when failing to reach that total.
- In the team's most recent contest, Elon scored a season-best 18 goals against William & Mary.
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 some more program records in sight.
- Elon's .895 team clear percentage is on pace to break the program record of .889 in a season, set in 2020.
- Elon's .625 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 12 free position goals in 2024, Anna Hackett is just two shy of the program record of 14 in a season.
- With 238 draw controls as a team, Elon has set the new program single-season record.
ELON AMONG THE CAA LEADERS
Listed below are Elon's ranks within the CAA:
TEAM RANKINGS (TOP THREE)
- Draw Controls - 1. Elon 17.00/game
- Women-Up Goals - 2. Elon 2.21/game
- Shots - 3. Elon 28.64/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 - 7. Elon .625
- Draw Controls/Game - 11. Elon 17.00
- Fouls/Game - 9. Elon 8.93
INDIVIDUAL RANKINGS (TOP 25)
-- ELON --
