STONY BROOK, N.Y. – Elon captured the 2025 Coastal Athletic Association Women's Soccer Championship in dramatic fashion Sunday, outlasting Stony Brook in a 1-1 match that required 110 minutes and a 6-5 penalty-kick victory to deliver the program its second-ever CAA title and an automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament.
The Phoenix (11-2-7) controlled long stretches of the championship match and struck first in the 68th minute. After Elon drew a free kick near the right flank,
Ashlee Brehio delivered a driven service into the box, where
Isa Murdock rose above a crowd and snapped a header inside the left post for her seventh goal of the season. It was a deserved breakthrough for Elon, which generated 14 shots in regulation.
Stony Brook (12-6-2) equalized with 1:42 left in regulation on an own goal, forcing overtime. But senior goalkeeper
Katie Bisgrove – the CAA Championship Most Outstanding Player – kept the Phoenix composed and afloat. Bisgrove delivered a signature performance, making 10 saves, including seven in the second half alone, to withstand the Seawolves' late pressure and carry the match into penalties.
In the shootout, Elon showed poise. After an initial miss on the opening attempt, the Phoenix converted their next six shots.
Ava Hellner calmly buried Elon's first make before Brehio,
Lauren McCauley,
Jess Beck and
Isabel DiPrima each finished their strikes. With the shootout tied 5-5 in the seventh round, Bisgrove came up with the save of her career, blocking Ashley Manor's attempt. Moments later, Elon freshman
Abby Brinker stepped up and rifled her attempt into the bottom-left corner to seal the championship.
The Phoenix carries a nine-match unbeaten streak into the NCAA Tournament after winning three road matches to clinch the CAA title.
How It Happened
- Stony Brook attempted the first three shots of the contest, the first of which Bisgrove turned away in the eighth minute.
- After withstanding Stony Brook's initial pressure, Elon held the Seawolves without a shot over the final 18-plus minutes of the period.
- The Phoenix took seven shots in the final 15 minutes of the opening half, with three coming from Murdock and two coming from Megan Dwyer. The match was tied at 0-0 entering halftime.
- Murdock put the first shot of the second half on goal in the 48th minute, an effort that Stony Brook goalkeeper Jona Hennings secured.
- Bisgrove made her two biggest saves of regulation in the 60th minute. After the Seawolves played a cross into Kristina Garcia, Bisgrove came out of the goal to deny a point-blank shot. Then, on the ensuing corner kick, Bisgrove went upstairs to rob another quality opportunity by Beck.
- Elon earned a free kick in the 68th minute. Brehio took the set piece, delivering a piercing ball into the box that Murdock headed past Hennings for the first goal of the contest.
- Following the Murdock goal, Bisgrove made a pair of stops to keep Stony Brook off the scoresheet, the first coming in the 69th minute and the next in the 87th minute.
- Stony Brook leveled the game with 1:42 remaining on an own goal from the Phoenix.
- The first overtime period featured just two shots, with one attempted by each team. Brehio had Elon's attempt in the 91st minute.
- Both teams took three shots in the second overtime period, with Dwyer, Murdock and Grace Gelhaus trying shots for the Phoenix. Bisgrove made her 10th and final save of the day in the 108th minute, turning away a shot by Stony Brook's Taylor Steinagel.
- Stony Brook went first in the penalty shootout, with Reilly Rich converting. After Gabby Hoschek hit the post on Elon's first effort, Bisgrove denied Linn Beck on Stony Brook's second shot. Ava Hellner evened the shootout at 1-1 by knocking in Elon's second attempt.
- Elon and Stony Brook traded goals in the next four rounds to bring the score to 5-5. Bisgrove made her second save of the shootout on Stony Brook's seventh shot, lunging to deny Ashley Manor. Brinker then came to the line and converted her first college penalty kick to secure Elon's CAA champiosnhip.
Notes & Numbers
- Murdock's goal was her seventh of the season and her first in a CAA Tournament match. It was the redshirt junior's 15th career goal.
- Brehio's assist was her third point of this year's CAA Tournament, as she also scored a goal in Elon's quarterfinal at William & Mary. The senior finishes her CAA Tournament career with six points in five matches.
- Elon outshot the Seawolves, 18-15. The second half featured 15 combined shots, with Stony Brook taking eight.
- Bisgrove recorded double-digit stops for the second straight match after stopping a career-high 12 in the CAA semifinal against UNCW. Bisgrove allowed just one goal in three CAA Tournament matches, making 28 saves.
- Bisgrove was chosen as the Most Outstanding Player of the CAA Tournament. Joining Bisgrove on the All-Tournament team was Brehio, Murdock and Gelhaus.
- Dwyer, Gelhaus, Murdock, Hellner, Jessica Hill and Alexis Pierce all logged the full 110 minutes for the Phoenix. Dwyer, Gelhaus, Hellner, Hill and Pierce also played the full 110 minutes in Elon's win over UNCW in the semifinal round. Hoschek also went 100 minutes for the Phoenix after playing the full 110 against the Seahawks.
- This was Elon's second straight match advancing on penalty kicks, as the Phoenix also won a penalty shootout, 6-5, in the CAA semifinal against UNCW.
- Elon won all three of its CAA Tournament matches on the road as the No. 3 seed from the South Division.
- The Phoenix is unbeaten in its last nine matches, a streak that began on Oct. 2 with a tie against CAA South regular season champion UNCW. Elon
- The CAA championship is Elon's second and first since the spring 2021 campaign.
Up Next
The NCAA Championship bracket will be revealed during a selection show on Monday,
live streamed on NCAA.com at 4 p.m. ET.
Stay Posted
For further coverage of Elon women's soccer, follow the Phoenix on X (@ElonWSoccer), Instagram (elonwsoccer) and Facebook (Elon Women's Soccer).
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