Elon, N.C.- Graduate Victor Stromsten played the game of his Elon career Monday night. The Swedish striker put together a seven-point performance including his first career hat trick en route to a 5-0 Elon win over Radford.
 
Stromsten found the back of the net twice in the first 71 seconds and Elon would not look back. Stromsten's hat trick is the first by a Phoenix since 2018 and helped lead the Phoenix to their second five-goal game at Rudd Field in the last two years.
 
St. John's transfers Charlie Kitch and Connor Mucchetti both found the back of the net for the first time as Elon Phoenix to pad the score in the second half. Fellow Elon newcomer Colin Veltri collected two assists on the night, bringing his total to three on the season.
 
With the victory over the Highlanders, Coach Marc Reeves claimed his 50^th win as Elon's head coach before a crowd of better than 600 at Rudd Field.
 
How It Happened

• Victor Stromsten led a historic start to the match. August Guinle found Colin Veltri near the top of the box, and with a flick of his boot he found Stromsten who buried the finish in the bottom left-hand corner.
• Moments later, winger Jordin Wilson found Stromsten again in the box. After a scramble for the ball, Stromsten found the next again to give Elon a 2-0 inside 75 seconds.
• Tomasz Wroblewski was challenged at the net twice in the first half, and made an outstanding save in the 20^th minute to preserve the two-goal advantage.
• The Phoenix continued to pour on the pressure in the first half with 11 more shots in the first half, but none finding the back of the net.
• Elon once again found their scoring touch in the final third with their first goal from a set piece on the season. Sophomore Charlie Kitch rose up to find a Scott Vatne cross from a corner kick to head home Elon's third goal and put the game beyond all doubt.
• Stromsten would seal his hat trick in the 70^th minute with another assist from Veltri to put the Phoenix ahead by four goals.
• Connor Mucchetti capped off the night with a goal of his own, his first as a Phoenix. Stromsten set him up in the box before a right-footed shot found the center of the goal to secure the five-goal game for the Phoenix.
• The Highlanders nearly found the back of the net, but a heads up play from Nicholas Mackinnon to back up Wroblewski kept the Highlander goal tally at nil.
• Elon saw the rest of the match through with a a number of freshmen seeing their first action of their Elon careers. The reserves helped push Elon over the edge 5-0 winners over Radford.

 
Notes and Stats

• The Phoenix have started the season 2-0 with back-to-back home victories. This is the third time in four seasons that Elon has finished with two wins from their first two games.
• Elon has not allowed a goal in 643 minutes dating back to last season. The equivalent is just over seven games without allowing a goal.
• Victor Stromsten capped the best night of his Elon career, bagging a hat trick. Stromsten's three goals are a career high, and his seven total points are also a career high.
• Stromsten becomes the first Phoenix since Iñigo Bronte in 2018 with a hat trick.
• The two goals in the opening 71 seconds are the fastest a pair of goals have been scored in Elon's Division I era. Stromsten's goals came just 28 seconds apart to jumpstart the Elon offense.
• Charlie Kitch collected his first collegiate goal off a header from a corner kick against Radford.
• Colin Veltri picked up two more assists and now leads the team with three on the season.  
• Scott Vatne secured his first assist of the season on the Kitch goal, giving Vatne three points on the young season.
• Jack Donlan was the only Phoenix outfield player to secure 90 minutes on the night. Both his first appearance lasting more than one minute and his first Phoenix start.
• Tomasz Wroblewski claimed his fifth consecutive regular season shutout in the win, with Elon outscoring their opponents 14-0 in those games.  
• Marc Reeves picked up his 50^th win as Elon head coach in the win over Radford. Counting his wins at Radford Reeves also collects his 125^th career win as a head coach.

 
Up Next

• The Phoenix will travel to Conway, South Carolina to take on the Coastal Carolina Chanticleers. Kick off from Myrtle Beach will be at 7 pm on Thursday.