Elon, N.C.- The #14/14 Elon Phoenix (7-0-1) hit the road this weekend for their most pivotal matchup to date with the #19/22 Hofstra Pride (7-1-1) in Hempstead, N.Y. The matchup features Elon who sits at the top of the CAA table with nine points and Hofstra in a tie for second with six points.
 
Elon took home a hard-fought win against the Stony Brook Sea Wolves last time out. The Phoenix continued their trend of striking early with a pair of goals from Scott Vatne and Charlie Kitch in the first 20 minutes. The two goals gave the Phoenix the edge in the 2-1 victory over Stony Brook and Elon's third win in three CAA contests.
 
How to Follow

• Saturday's game with the Pride will be streamed on FloFC, and you can watch the game by CLICKING HERE.  The game will also be free to watch on YouTube on FloFC's Youtube channel.
• Live stats will be available for the matchup with the Pride and will be available by CLICKING HERE.
• Live updates will be available on both X and Instagram during the match @ElonMSoccer.

 
The All-Time Series

• This will be the 12^th meeting all-time between the Phoenix and the Pride with Elon trailing the series, 1-9-1.
• Elon's lone win against Hofstra came in 2022 in the programs' last matchup at Hofstra Soccer Stadium.
• Three second half goals from the Phoenix including a pair from Scott Vatne and Victor Stromsten gave Elon the 3-1 edge over the Pride. The result helped Elon clinch a postseason berth and the 2022 CAA Regular Season title. 

 
Last Time Out

• The Phoenix collected two early goals from Scott Vatne and Charlie Kitch to jolt the Phoenix past Stony Brook last Saturday.  
• Elon immediately began the match with a corner kick in the first minute, creating their first chance from a set piece.
• In the 7^th minute, a ball found Ryan Manna in the box and after contact, Manna was brought down and was awarded a penalty. Scott Vatne stepped to the spot and buried a penalty in the bottom right-hand corner to give Elon the early 1-0 lead.
• Victor Stromsten nearly found a second for the Phoenix in the 14^th minute, but the SBU keeper made a fine save in the center of the goal.
• The Phoenix found another set piece opportunity in the 18^th minute with a corner kick. Scott Vatne put in a ball with his weak foot which found a wide-open Charlie Kitch who found the back of the net with a glanced header to give Elon a 2-0 lead.
• Stromsten found the target again the 26^th minute to find another shot on goal before Stony Brook found chances of their own.
• Tomasz Wroblewski made one of his best saves of the season when he stopped a curling effort with a leaping right-handed save.
• A final attempt from Stony Brook came in the 42^nd minute but was easily saved by Wroblewski and saw Elon through the half with a 2-0 lead.
• The Sea Wolves piled on the pressure early in the second half but another fine effort from Wroblewski kept Elon's lead at two.
• The pressure would ultimately cost the Phoenix as a run from their own half saw Stony Brook break to within one.
• Elon had 15 minutes to hold on and they did just that, limiting Stony Brook to no shots in the final 12 minutes to see out the 2-1 victory.

 
Preseason Praise

• Senior Scott Vatne and graduate Victor Stromsten were both selected to the All-CAA preseason team while junior Majaliwa Msabaha was an honorable mention. Stromsten makes his first appearance on an All-CAA preseason list following his 13-point season in 2023.
• Vatne makes his second straight appearance on the All-CAA preseason team while Msabaha is featured for a second time on the honorable mention list.
• Stromsten returns to the Phoenix for his fifth season at Elon. The forward came on strong at the end of the season up top for the Phoenix, scoring four goals in his final six conference games. Stromsten saw the Phoenix through to the CAA semifinals with a game-winning goal over the number three seeded Stony Brook Sea Wolves.
• Vatne enters his senior season having amassed a list of preseason and post-season honors over the last year. Following an All-CAA First Team and All-Atlantic Region season in 2023, Vatne returns to the midfield following a 12-point season and leading the Phoenix in assists with four.
• Msabaha makes his second honorable mention side after back-to-back All-CAA Third Team selections. The junior captain led the Phoenix last season in the midfield, making 16 starts in 17 games and picking up an assist in Elon's CAA quarterfinal win.

 
Top Drawer Recognition

• In the last two rankings, the Elon Phoenix have found themselves ranked in the Top 25. Ranked for the first time at #13 on September 10 and then climbing into the Top 10 for the first time since 2015.  
• Elon has been laced with preseason honors to several players with Scott Vatne and Tomasz Wroblewski being named to the Top Drawer Soccer Preseason Top 100 players list.
• The Phoenix was the lone club in the CAA with multiple players on the Top 100 list with Hofstra being the only other CAA school with a player mentioned.
• This was the first time Elon had two players listed on the preseason list since Elon joined the CAA ten years ago.
• Victor Stromsten was selected to the Top Drawer Soccer National Team of the Week this past week for his performances against both Radford and Coastal Carolina.
• Tomasz Wroblewski was named to the Top Drawer Soccer National Team of the Week after a 13-save performance against Wake Forest.

 
Scouting Hofstra

• The Pride  were predicted to finish first with nine first place votes in the preseason CAA poll released in August.
• Pierre Infuso was selected to the All-CAA Preseason Team as well as being selected as the CAA Preseason Player of the Year.
• After nine games, Hofstra sits at 7-1-1 with a 2-1-0 record in CAA play.
• In their most recent outing, the Pride comfortably took care of Loyola (Md.) 3-0 on the road Tuesday.
• Jacob Woznicki leads the way with five goals for the Pride as well as leading the team in points with 11.
• Filippo Dadone has minded the net for all nine games for the Pride and allowed just five goals.
• Richard Nuttall is in his 36^th year as the head coach at Hofstra and is coming off his third straight CAA Tournament title.

 
New Faces Making Impact

• Colin Veltri, Connor Mucchetti, and Charlie Kitch all join the Phoenix after playing elsewhere in the 2023 season.
• Veltri has scored in five straight matches and has secured at least a point in all seven matches. Veltri becomes the first player under Marc Reeves to secure a 15-point season.
• Connnor Mucchetti and Charlie Kitch both secured their first goals as Phoenix in the 5-0 victory against Radford.
• Both Veltri and Mucchetti joined the Phoenix in the spring with Kitch joining Elon this fall.
• Jack Donlan transferred in from Indian Hills Community College. Donlan has been a fixture at the back, securing a full 90 minutes four times so far this season.