Towson, Md. – The Elon lacrosse team makes the trip to Maryland to face Towson with the season on the line. The two teams are both 4-3 in Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) play and the winner will earn the fourth and final spot to the CAA Tournament. The game begins at 1:00 p.m. Saturday at Tiger Field.
Elon enters the match on a three-game winning streak with a record of 8-7 overall. The Phoenix have scored at least 16 goals in each game during the winning streak. Towson is 7-8 on the season and has won 2-of-3 matches. The Tigers are just 2-6 at home in 2024 but will be holding Senior Day.
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 TOWSON
- Towson is 7-8 on the season and 4-3 in conference play. The Tigers are coming off of a 17-10 win at Campbell a week ago.
- Towson has gotten strong play between the pipes this year and the squad ranks 12th in the country with a .477 save percentage. Individually, Jo Torres is 13th in the country with 9.79 saves per contest and 16th with a .474 save percentage. Her 10.82 goals against average is 38th in the country.
- The Tigers also collect ground balls well, leading the CAA at 17.47 per contest. Blair Goodrich and Shannon Sullivan lead the way with 2.40 and 2.33 ground balls per game, respectively.
- Milana Zizakovic is Towson's primary shot taker, leading the team with 7.13 per game. She is also the team's top free position taker, converting on 33.3 percent.
- Towson averages just 10.87 draw controls per game, No. 111 out of 120 nationally and has a win percentage of .459.
- Head Coach Kristen Carr is in her first year leading Towson. Her college coaching resume includes time spent on coaching staffs at Johns Hopkins, Ohio State and Stanford.
SERIES HISTORY
- Towson and Elon are meeting for the 12th time with Towson holding a 10-1 lead in the all-time series.
- Elon's lone win in the series came on Towson's home field in the 2017 CAA Tournament, a 10-9 victory.
- In total, Towson is 5-1 against Elon on its home turf.
- The two programs have played three times in the CAA Tournament, meeting in 2017, 2018 and 2021.
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 has won the CAA regular season with a perfect 8-0 conference record. Drexel and Hofstra are each 6-1 and will be the No. 2 and No. 3 seeds dependent on their head-to-head contest this weekend.
- Elon and Towson sit at 4-3 in conference play. The winner of Saturday's game will finish in sole possession of fourth place and the other team will end fifth.
LAST TIME OUT
- Elon held off a pair of second-half charges by the Delaware Blue Hens, earning a 16-15 Senior Day victory. With the win, Elon forced a "win and in" game against Towson Saturday.
- Sammy Fisher scored a hat trick in less than eight minutes of the first quarter and Kaitlyn Michaud added a score as Elon went ahead 4-2 midway through the first quarter.
- The scoring, though, did not slow down. After Delaware responded with a pair of goals to tie the game, Lila Ceribelli and Michaud closed the first quarter with goals to put Elon ahead 6-4.
- After Delaware cut the deficit in half to open the second quarter, Mia Zebley scored a pair of goals just 43 seconds apart to give Elon an 8-5 advantage.
- Ana Lee Vandiver put the Phoenix on top 9-6 and, after Delaware scored back-to-back goals, Zebley posted her third goal of the period and Elon led 10-8 at the half.
- Fisher, Michaud and Cierra Hopson scored in succession to open the third quarter and Elon looked to be on cruise control with a 13-8 advantage. But Delaware scored the final goal of the third period and then three straight to open the fourth.
- With Elon's lead cut to one at 13-12, the Phoenix responded with three straight goals. Michaud, Bridget Kelly and Zebley gave Elon a 16-12 advantage, but Delaware was not done.
- The Blue Hens scored three goals in 89 seconds, the last coming with 2:30 to play, and closed to within one at 16-15.
- Kailee Follette won the ensuing draw control and was able to run more than a minute off the clock before a turnover gave Delaware the chance it needed to tie the contest.
- The Blue Hens though turned it over with 28 seconds left but Delaware's pressure defense got it right back. Delaware's Jaclyn Marszal had an open look with 13 seconds remaining but Caitlin Walsh made her 10th save of the contest and Elon was able to run out the clock.
- Sammy Fisher, Kaitlyn Michaud and Mia Zebley had four points each. Zebley added an assist for a game-high five points.
- Kailee Follette and Reagan Kuehn each had three caused turnovers.
- MJ Santa Barbara, who entered the weekend ranked No. 7 in the country in draw controls, had a game-high 10.
- Elon outshot Delaware 34-33 and 28-25 on goal.
- Elon held a 19-15 advantage in draw controls, but Delaware led 16-13 on ground balls.
- Both teams had 21 turnovers in the contest.
- Elon improved to 8-0 on the year when scoring at least 12 goals. The 16 goals were the third-most scored on Delaware this season.
- Elon improves to 5-4 all-time against Delaware, including 4-2 on Rudd Field.
RACKING UP CAA AWARDS
- 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.
- Freshman MJ Santa Barbara was named CAA Rookie 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.
- Mia Zebley was named CAA Co-Rookie of the Week on April 22, becoming the third Elon freshman to earn the honor this season. She had a career-high five goals, including four goals, in the Phoenix's 16-15 win over Delaware. Zebley scored a second period hat trick and then had the game-winning goal in the fourth quarter.
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 9.20 draw controls per game, most in the CAA and seventh in the country.
- Elon holds a .619 win percentage in draws, ranking sixth 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. She now has 138 draw controls on the season.
BALANCED OFFENSE
A DOZEN IS ALL IT TAKES
- Elon has been unbeatable when scoring at least 12 goals on the season. The Phoenix are 8-0 when scoring 12+ goals this year and 0-7 when failing to reach that total.
- Elon has scored at least 16 goals in three straight games, including a season-bet 18 in a win over William & Mary.
RECORD WATCHING
- Even with MJ Santa Barbara shattering the single-season program record with 138 draw controls as well as the single-game record with 15 against Monmouth, Elon has more program records in sight.
- Elon's .886 team clear percentage is threatening the program record of .889 in a season, set in 2020.
- Elon's .619 win percentage in the draw circle is within sight of the program record .620 win percentage from 2020.
- Reagan Kuehn has 21 caused turnovers in 2024. She needs three more to tie the program record for a freshman of 24 set by Rachel Ramirez in 2014.
- With 257 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 Control Percentage – 1. Elon .619
- Draw Controls - 1. Elon 17.13/game
- Shots - 2. Elon 29.00/game
- Shots On Goal – 2. Elon 20.93/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 - 6. Elon .619
- Draw Controls/Game - 12. Elon 17.13
- Fouls/Game - 13. Elon 9.53
INDIVIDUAL RANKINGS (TOP 25)
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