ELON – The Elon University men's soccer team (5-1-4) will square off against two ACC opponents to finish its nonconference slate, as the Phoenix travels to face Clemson (5-2-2) on Saturday and No. 9 Duke (6-0-3) on Tuesday.
Elon vs. Clemson Briefing
Match Details: Oct. 4, 2025 | Clemson, S.C. | Historic Riggs Field | 7 p.m.
Elon vs. No. 9 Duke Briefing
Match Details: Oct. 7, 2025 | Durham, N.C. | Koskinen Stadium | 7 p.m.
The Clemson Series
- The head-to-head series between the Tigers and Phoenix is evenly split, 3-3-1.
- Two of the seven meetings between the teams have come in the NCAA Tournament. Clemson defeated the Phoenix via penalty kicks (4-1) in the first round in 2013 before beating Elon, 5-2, in the second round in 2015.
- The 2015 NCAA Tournament meeting was the most recent match between the teams.
- Elon has one victory at Clemson, which came on Oct. 12, 2010. The Phoenix won 1-0 at Historic Riggs Field behind a goal from Chris Thomas and seven saves in net from Reed Dillard.
- The Phoenix won three straight against the Tigers from 2009-2011, outscoring Clemson, 4-0, in those contests.
The Duke Series
- Tuesday will be the 22nd all-time meeting between Duke and Elon, with the Blue Devils holding a 16-2-3 advantage in the series.
- This will be the fifth straight season the teams have faced each other, with Duke winning the previous four.
- Duke defeated Elon, 2-1, last season at Rudd. Ryan Manna scored late in the first half to give the Phoenix a lead, but Duke responded with a pair of second-half goals to secure the victory.
- Elon's last victory over Duke came on Oct. 15, 2019, when the Phoenix knocked off the Blue Devils, 3-2, at Rudd. Vemund Hole Vik scored the game winner for Elon in the 88th minute.
- The Phoenix has never beaten Duke in Durham. However, Elon has been within a goal of the Blue Devils in four of the last six trips to Koskinen Stadium.
Last Time Out
- Elon held one of the nation's most potent scoring attacks to just three shots on goal Tuesday night in a 0-0 draw against No. 10 UNCG.
- UNCG entered Tuesday as the No. 4 scoring offense in the country, averaging nearly three goals per match. The Phoenix withstood 14 shot attempts from the Spartans to post its seventh clean sheet of the campaign.
- The Phoenix held UNCG's Enzo Dovlo, who entered the night top 10 nationally with seven goals on the season, to just three shot attempts, none of which were on target.
- Jackson Leavitt started in goal for the Phoenix, stopping all three UNCG shots on target.
- Elon is still yet to concede a goal through six matches at Rudd this season. The Phoenix has only allowed three goals in its first 10 matches.
- This was Elon's first result against a top 10 opponent since Sept. 15, 2015, when the Phoenix defeated No. 7 Wake Forest, 1-0. It was the first tie for Elon against top 10 team since Sept. 28, 2010, when the Phoenix battled No. 9 Duke to a 1-1 stalemate.
- This was Elon's second consecutive scoreless draw and third of the campaign.
CAA Success
- Elon currently sits atop the CAA South division with eight points after going 2-0-2 in in its first four conference clashes.
- The Phoenix is two points clear of UNCW, who sits alone in second place in the standings.
- Elon defeated the Seahawks, 2-1, in the first conference match for both teams on Aug. 29. The Phoenix then knocked off College of Charleston on Sept. 6 at Rudd, 1-0.
- The Phoenix has tied its last two CAA matches against William & Mary (1-1) on Sept. 20 and Campbell (0-0) on Sept. 26.
- Elon will face all four CAA South teams again to close the regular season. The Phoenix returns to conference play against UNCW on Oct. 11.
Defense, Defense, Defense
- Elon has allowed just three goals through its first 10 matches. The Phoenix has posted seven clean sheets on the season, including a stretch of four in a row that came to an end on Sept. 20 at William & Mary.
- The Phoenix leads the CAA and is tied for No. 4 nationally in goals against average (0.30). Elon has allowed five fewer goals than the next best CAA team.
- Leavitt has played every minute in goal this season for the Phoenix. He has made 24 saves and ranks No. 6 nationally in save percentage (.889) as well as No. 5 in goals against average (.30).
- The Phoenix has yet to allow a goal at Rudd this season, with six of the team's seven clean sheets coming at home.
- Elon is tied for No. 7 in the country in shutout percentage (.700).
- Majaliwa Msabaha has logged all 900 minutes for Elon this season. Connor Mucchetti (834) and Weston Jonke (817) have surpassed 800 minutes in Elon's midfield.
- Elon has allowed just two of its first 10 opponents to reach double digit shot attempts in a game. UNCG was the first opposing team to attempt double-digit shots against the Phoenix since UNCW on Aug. 30.
- The Phoenix is allowing just eight shots against per match. The Phoenix is holding its opponents to a 0.038 shot percentage on the season.
Renz The Rookie
- Dominik Renz has quickly emerged as one of Elon's top offensive producers in his debut campaign with the Phoenix.
- The redshirt sophomore is tied for the team lead with seven points (3g, 1a) and had a four-game point streak earlier this season.
- All three of Renz's goals this season have been game-winning tallies, including two against CAA opponents UNCW and College of Charleston. He ranks No. 2 in the conference in game-winning goals, trailing only Hofstra's Laurie Goddard (4).
- Renz took home back-to-back CAA Rookie of the Week honors on Sept. 1 and Sept. 8, becoming the first Elon player to win the weekly honor twice in a season since Scott Vatne in 2021.
- Renz has made six consecutive starts for the Phoenix and has played 65-plus minutes in seven of the last eight matches.
Kozak Contributing
- Martin Kozak is tied with Renz for a team best seven points (2g, 3a). He has scored two of Elon's last three goals.
- Kozak leads the Phoenix with three assists through the first 10 games this season, all of which he has started.
- The junior is also tied with Renz for the most points by an Elon player in CAA matches (4).
- Kozak is one of three Elon players, along with Mucchetti and Colin Veltri, with multiple assists on the season and has contributed on five of Elon's nine goals as a team.
- Kozak is tied for the fourth most assists among CAA players, trailing only Monmouth's Jakob Friedman (8), Stony Brook's Alex Fleury (6) and Drexel's Morgan Worsfold-Gregg (4).
Defending Regular Season Champs
- Elon is coming off its second regular season CAA title in the last three seasons after topping the league table in 2024 with a 6-2 conference mark.
- Needing a victory in the regular season finale against Campbell to clinch the regular season crown, Elon came away with a 2-1 road victory behind goals from Scott Vatne and Mucchetti.
- The Phoenix finished last season with a 10-7-1 overall record. As the top seed in the CAA Championship, Elon hosted a semifinal match against No. 4 seeded Hofstra, losing 2-0 to the eventual conference champions.
- Elon went its first eight matches without a defeat and rose to as high as No. 10 in the national rankings. During that stretch, the Phoenix won its first five games by a combined score of 14-2, staged a 3-0 road comeback to defeat Delaware 4-3 and drew on the road against ACC opponent Wake Forest.
- Vatne earned CAA Player of the Year after notching 10 goals and seven assists to lead the Phoenix in both categories. He became Elon's first conference player of the year since Daniel Lovitz took home the award for the SoConn in 2013.
- Victor Stromsten, Tomasz Wroblewski, Charlie Kitch and Veltri also earned All-CAA recognition, with all four earning a spot on the second team.
- Additionally, head coach Marc Reeves took home CAA Coach of the Year for the second time in three seasons after also winning the award in 2022.
New Look CAA Soccer
- Starting in 2025, the CAA will feature two divisions for men's soccer – a North and South Division.
- Elon is part of the South Division alongside Campbell, College of Charleston, UNCW and William & Mary.
- The Phoenix will face the other four South Division teams twice during the regular season, with one game at home and one on the road.
- At the end of the regular season, the top three teams from each division will qualify for the CAA Championship. The top seed in each division will receive a bye to the semifinals while the Nos. 2 and 3 seeds in both the North and South will clash in the quarterfinals.
Scouting Clemson
- The Tigers enter Saturday with a 5-2-2 record on the season and a 3-0-1 mark in ACC play.
- Clemson is coming off a 4-3 road victory last weekend over No. 13 Wake Forest in its most recent outing. Nathan Richmond netted the game-winning-goal for the Tigers in the 72nd minute.
- The Tigers received six votes in Tuesday's United Soccer Coaches top 25 poll, the fourth most by a team not currently ranked. Clemson has been ranked as high as No. 3 this season.
- Clemson has won two straight matches following an 0-2-1 stretch that featured home losses against VCU and Queens.
- The Tigers rank No. 10 nationally in scoring offense with 2.67 goals per contest.
- Ransford Gyan is leading the Tigers with eight goals this season, which ranks in the top 10 nationally. Richmond is close behind with seven goals.
- Gyan also has six assists and is tied for fourth in the country with 22 points. Richmond (15) and Wahabu Musah (10) also have double-digit points on the campaign.
- Joseph Andema has started all nine matches in goal for the Tigers this season. He has made 20 saves and boasts a 1.44 goals against average.
- The Tigers won the 2023 national championship and have qualified for six consecutive NCAA Tournaments.
- Mike Noonan is in his 16th season as Clemson's head coach. He is a two-time National Coach of the Year.
Scouting No. 9 Duke
- The Blue Devils are still unbeaten on the season (6-0-3) and are a perfect 6-0-0 at Koskinen.
- Duke defeated Averett, 10-0, in its most recent outing. The Blue Devils will host Pittsburgh on Friday before facing the Phoenix on Tuesday.
- The Blue Devils have won four consecutive matches, outscoring their opponents 21-0 in that stretch.
- Duke is the top scoring offense in the country and is one of two teams, along with Maryland, averaging three-plus goals per game (3.11).
- The Blue Devils average 20.33 shot attempts per game, the fourth most in the nation. Duke's plus-23 goal differential is also No. 3 nationally.
- Alessandro Ariotti leads the Blue Devils and is tied for No. 12 in the country with 17 points (6g, 5a) on the season. Kenan Hot (15) and Leonardo D'ambrosio (10) also have double-digit points.
- Ariotti and Hot both have six goals to lead the Blue Devils. D'ambrosio and Drew Kerr (4) are tied for second on the team in assists behind Ariotti (5).
- Eryk Dymora has made eight starts in goals for the Blue Devils. He has made 20 saves and has a 0.67 goals against average.
- John Kerr is in his 18th season as Duke's head coach. He has led the Blue Devils to four straight NCAA Tournament appearances.
Stay Posted
For further coverage of Elon men's soccer, follow the Phoenix on X (@ElonMSoccer), Instagram (elonmsoccer) and Facebook (Elon Men's Soccer).
--ELON--
