Elon, N.C. – The Elon University women's lacrosse team will play two home games over the course of four days, beginning with Virginia Commonwealth Saturday at 12:00 p.m. The Phoenix will then host East Carolina Tuesday at 5:00 p.m. in a makeup contest following an earlier postponement.
VCU comes into the weekend with a record of 1-2 overall and East Carolina is 1-0. Elon is looking for its first victory after an 0-2 start.
HOW TO FOLLOW
- Saturday vs. VCU
- Tuesday vs. ECU
- Follow the official social media accounts of Elon Lacrosse:
- Twitter - @ElonWLax
- Instagram - @ElonWLax
SCOUTING VCU
- VCU enters Saturday's game with Elon at 1-2 on the season. The Rams opened the season with losses to Virginia Tech (15-7) and Liberty (15-8) before defeating Longwood Tuesday, 15-3.
- VCU has worked to limit the opponent's offensive chances thus far this year, averaging 9.3 caused turnovers per game and allowing just 11.0 goals per game.
- VCU was picked to finish fifth out of 11 teams in the Atlantic 10 preseason poll, but the Rams did not have a player on the preseason all-conference team.
- Head Coach Nicole Flores is in her fourth season leading VCU with a record of 21-34. The Rams went 5-13 a year ago and 4-5 in conference play.
SCOUTING ECU
- East Carolina enters Tuesday's contest at 1-0 on the season, following a 12-8 victory at Queens on Feb. 8. ECU will have 17 days between games by the time that game takes place.
- Junior midfielder Kayla Wilkes scored five goals in the team's victory, while senior defender Emma Magazu had five ground balls and four caused turnovers. She is the sister of Elon football tight end Dylan Magazu.
- Magazu was named AAC Defensive Player of the Week for her efforts against Queens.
- ECU was picked to finish fourth out of seven teams in the AAC preseason coaches' poll and Erin Gulden, Caroline Meininger and Emily Stratton were all named to the AAC preseason all-conference team.
- Head Coach Brittany Dipper is in her second year leading the ECU program. The Pirates went 4-12 in her first season at the helm. She spent four years as an assistant coach at Elon under Head Coach Josh Hexter.
SERIES HISTORY VS. VCU
- Elon leads the all-time series against VCU 3-1 but the two teams have split the two meetings on Rudd Field.
- Last year, Elon won 12-11 at VCU, avenging a 9-8 overtime loss two years ago.
- In the 2024 victory, Elon rallied for its largest comeback in program history, rebounding from a five-goal deficit at 6-1 after one quarter. Ana Lee Vandiver had six goals and an assist in the contest. Elon was down 9-7 before five consecutive goals put the Phoenix ahead 12-9. VCU scored twice in the final three minutes but it was not enough.
SERIES HISTORY VS. EAST CAROLINA
- Elon and East Carolina are 1-1 in two all-time meetings. However, the visiting team has won both contests in the series.
- A year ago, Elon defeated ECU 13-10 on the road, while ECU posted a 16-11 victory on Rudd Field in 2023.
- Sammy Fisher had five goals in that victory and Cierra Hopson added four more.
WELCOME TO ELON
- Elon had a handful of strong debut performances against Duke in the season opener.
- Freshman Addie Gilner earned her first career goal in the third quarter. The score capped a three-goal flurry for the Phoenix.
- Transfer defender Eliza Ritter tied for team-high honors with three caused turnovers, adding a pair of ground balls in the contest. She was part of a 16-caused turnover performance that ranks fourth in a single-game in program history.
- Freshman Lillian Austin had four shots, a ground ball and a caused turnover.
- Freshman midfielder Arianna Kouchalakos had two ground balls and a shot on goal.
- Freshman attack Danielle Swietoniowski had four shots on goal and two free position shots.
LOOKING BACK TO LOOK AHEAD
- Elon went 9-8 in 2024 and posted a 5-3 record in the CAA, qualifying for the CAA Tournament semifinals. That record was a five-win improvement over 2023 both overall and in conference.
- The Phoenix returns seven of its eight leading scorers from a year ago, including Sammy Fisher, who paced Elon with 37 goals and 44 points. She was a preseason All-CAA pick.
- Sophomore Reagan Kuehn is the headliner on defense, earning All-CAA honorable mention status in the preseason. She had 36 ground balls and 24 caused turnovers a year ago.
- MJ Santa Barbara, one of the best in the country in the draw circle, is just a sophomore and earned preseason All-American status by USA Lacrosse. She broke Elon's single-game and single-season draw control record last year, as well as the CAA's single-season draw control mark. Her 8.88 draw controls per game were most in the country for a freshman and ranked No. 7 nationally.
ZEBLEY PICKS UP WHERE SHE LEFT OFF
- Sophomore Mia Zebley closed her freshman season in impressive fashion and then began her sophomore campaign much the same way.
- Through the first 10 games of her freshman season in 2024, Zebley had 10 points. But she posted 10 goals and 10 assists (20 points) over the final five games of her freshman season. She had at least three points in each of those games.
- Against Duke in the season opener, she made it six consecutive games with at least three points, finishing with two goals and an assist.
- While she was held to just a single goal against Virginia Tech, Zebley did continue her streak of seven straight games with at least one point.
PRESEASON AWARDS
- Sophomore MJ Santa Barbara was named honorable mention preseason All-America by USA Lacrosse as a draw control specialist. She is the first Elon player to earn preseason All-America status since Stephanie Asher was named honorable mention All-America by Inside Lacrosse in 2018.
- Senior Sammy Fisher was named to the preseason All-CAA Team as one of five attackers recognized. She led Elon with 37 goals and 44 points, adding 14 ground balls, 16 draw controls and five caused turnovers.
- Sophomore Reagan Kuehn was named honorable mention preseason All-CAA after leading Elon with 36 ground balls and 24 caused turnovers. She added a program record 11 caused turnovers in conference play and had at least one caused turnover in 11 straight games to open her collegiate career.
ABOUT THE COACHING STAFF
- Josh Hexter enters his 12th season at the helm of the Elon lacrosse program in 2025 as the only head coach in the program's history. He is 79-92 in the first 12 years of the program and has a career head coaching mark of 151-134, which includes a 72-42 record in seven seasons at Bridgewater State.
- Assistant Coach Kelly Dowd is in her first season at Elon after two seasons as an assistant at Connecticut. She is a 2017 graduate of Queens University of Charlotte.
- Assistant Coach Katie Brodsky is also in her first season at Elon and most recently served as the lacrosse program head at Seattle Preparatory School. She is a 2023 graduate of Arizona State.
INTO THE RECORD BOOKS
- Elon returns three of its top seven goal scorers in program history, along with a wealth of elite statistical talent elsewhere. Listed below are the current student-athletes among the Phoenix's all-time top 10 career leaderboards:
Points – 4.
Cierra Hopson 108, 6.
Sammy Fisher 99, t9.
Anna Hackett 71
Goals – 3.
Sammy Fisher 85, t4.
Cierra Hopson 83, 7.
Anna Hackett 64
Assists – 5.
Cierra Hopson 25, t10.
Mia Zebley 15
Shots – 2.
Sammy Fisher 200, 4.
Cierra Hopson 186, 9.
Anna Hackett 139
Free Position Goals – 4.
Anna Hackett 22, t10.
Cierra Hopson 10, t10.
Sammy Fisher 10
Draw Controls – 3.
MJ Santa Barbara 151, 5.
Sammy Fisher 92
Saves – t2.
Caitlin Walsh 251, 6.
Chloe Herghelegiu 73
Save Percentage – 4.
Caitlin Walsh .381, 7.
Chloe Herghelegiu .324
GAA – 5.
Caitlin Walsh 13.76, 7.
Chloe Herghelegiu 14.72
Goalie Minutes – 2.
Caitlin Walsh 1774:33, 6.
Chloe Herghelegiu 619:44
Goalie Wins – 3.
Caitlin Walsh 11, t4.
Chloe Herghelegiu 4
AMONG THE TEAM NATIONAL LEADERS
- Elon ranks among the national top 25 in the following team statistical categories:
Caused Turnovers/Game – 23. 11.00
Fewest Turnovers/Game – 14. 11.00
AMONG THE INDIVIDUAL NATIONAL LEADERS
- Elon ranks among the national top 25 in the following individual statistical categories:
Free Position Goals/Game – 24.
Mia Zebley 1.00
Free Position Percentage – t1.
Mia Zebley 1.000
Ground Balls/Game – 11.
Caitlin Walsh 4.50
-- ELON --
