ELON, N.C. – The No. 14 Elon University men's soccer team begins a four-match homestand as the Phoenix (7-1-1) welcomes fellow Piedmont Triad rival High Point (4-2-2) to Rudd Field on Tuesday night, Oct. 1. Kickoff between the Phoenix and the Panthers is scheduled for 7 p.m.
 
HOW TO FOLLOW
• Tuesday's game will be streamed on FloFC via a paid subscription.
• Live stats will also be available for fans to follow along with live updates on Twitter/X at @ElonMSoccer.
 
MATCH PROMOTIONS
• Tomorrow's match is the Flood the Rudd game in which the team will be handing out free Elon soccer scarves to the first 100 Elon University students in attendance at Rudd Field.
 
THE MATCHUP
• Longtime rivals since Elon's inaugural season in 1972, the Phoenix and the Panthers will meet for the 58^th time on the pitch on Tuesday. High Point holds a 30-13-14 all-time advantage in the series over the maroon and gold.
• High Point is unbeaten in its last four meetings versus the Phoenix, going 2-0-2 in that span. Both teams battled to a 2-2 draw in the most recent game last season at High Point, with the maroon and gold overcoming an early 2-0 deficit to force the tie.
• The last game at Rudd Field also resulted in a draw, 0-0, in 2022. Elon outshot the Panthers, 14-9, in that matchup while adding its sixth shutout of the campaign at the time.
 
LAST TIME OUT
• In a clash amongst ranked and the top two teams in the CAA standings, Elon faced No. 19/22 Hofstra this past Saturday in Hempstead, N.Y. The Pride earned the win over the Phoenix, 2-1, handing the maroon and gold its first loss of the season.
• The Pride scored the opening goal of the match in the 28^th minute, but the Phoenix leveled the score on a Petro Klishch goal early in the second stanza in the 52^nd minute.
• Hofstra scored the go-ahead and game-winning goal in the 61^st minute off a corner kick, putting the Phoenix down 2-1. The Phoenix had two more shot attempts to tie the match in the remaining minutes of the game, but could not find the equalizer.
 
SCOUTING HIGH POINT
• The Panthers come into the match with a 4-2-2 ledger after earning a 3-1 victory over Radford on Saturday. The win extended High Point's home unbeaten streak to 16 games.
• High Point was selected as the Big South Preseason favorite for the 2024 season after the Panthers went 10-4-5 last year with a 6-0-1 mark in conference play. High Point won the Big South Tournament and clinched a berth to the NCAA Tournament.
• As a team, High Point has scored 13 goals on the season while averaging 10.8 shots per contest. The Panthers have connected on 37 percent of their shots on target.
• Seven players have tallied a goal this season with junior midfielder Brendan Krueger leading the way with four goals. The Clearwater, Fla., native also leads the program with three assists and has 11 total points on the year.
• Junior midfielder Jefferson Amaya earned some preseason praise prior to the year as the Charlotte native was named the Big South Preseason Midfielder of the Year. In 2023, Amaya led the team in almost every offensive category with five goals, six assists and 16 points. This season, he has one goal and one assist in his seven games.
• In goal, two players have split time between the posts as the Panthers have posted a GAA of 1.13 with 17 saves and a 65.4 save percentage. Luke Snyder has started the past three matches and has a GAA of 0.67 with one shutout to his credit.
 
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.
• Majaliwa 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 SOCCER RECOGNITION
• In the last two rankings, the Elon has found itself ranked in the Top 25. Ranked for the first time at #13 on September 10 and then climbed 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.
 
UP NEXT
The Phoenix continues its home swing this Saturday, Oct. 5, with a visit from CAA foe William & Mary. That game is set for 7 p.m. and will air on FloFC.