ELON N.C. – Elon lacrosse defeated the VCU Rams on Saturday afternoon by a score of 17-6. It was an all around effort from the Phoenix, as nine of the seventeen goals scored came from the bench. In this game, the Phoenix had seven different goal scorers. 

Of these scorers, senior attacker Kailey McKenna stood out the most. McKenna had the best game of her career so far, scoring a staggering five goals. Coming into the day, McKenna had not attempted five shots in a single game let alone score five of them. 

"We all just came out with a great mentality," McKenna said. "Starting from the beginning whistle we all came out with a tough presence, and I think that carried us through the rest of the game. I definitely fed off of my teammates, and a ton of people scored for us today. It's a really rewarding feeling knowing that we've been working on that all preseason."

A player who seems to stand out weekly for the Phoenix is senior midfielder Sammy Fisher. She made history today by becoming the sixth player in Elon history to surpass 100 career points. 
 

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"It definitely means a lot," Fisher said. "It's a nice goal to work towards, but I think more so knowing that my team has my back, and that I can contribute to them means a lot more."

Fisher was one of six players who scored multiple goals in the game, along with leading the team with eight shots. Fisher was an active facilitator as well, racking in three of the team's nine assists. She also contributed to the success in the center circle as Elon won the draw control battle, 19-8. 

The key catalyst to the center circle success, however, was freshman Lillian Austin, who stepped in to nab seven draw controls for the team. Fisher had high praise for the newcomer's impact on the game.

"It was definitely a bigger role that she had to step into, and she did a great job in doing so," Fisher said of Austin. "As a freshman, it's tough sometimes to take on that bigger role, but she did amazing. Her talk, her effort and her play was there, and seeing her succeed helped us come together as a team".

Despite how dominating the win was, it meant a little bit more to senior defender Kiley Selquist, as the game was the team's annual Morgan's Message dedication game. Morgan's Message is a non-profit organization dedicated to eliminating the stigma surrounding student-athletes' mental health. Selquist has been an ambassador for the organization and was more than thrilled to honor the cause with a win. 

"Today even in the locker room, the vibes were high," Selquist said. "We all were working towards a bigger organization, and fighting a bigger stigma. It really brought our team together and reminded us that we're committed to something bigger. When we took that moment of silence before the game, it really connected us in that moment. We then were able to carry that connection onto the field because we had a lot of young players shooting, scoring and capitalizing on opportunities. It was so great for us to see because of the well-rounded team that we have."

After the win, the Phoenix now sits at 1-2 on the season. The squad will be back at Rudd Field on Tuesday, Feb. 25 to face Eastern Carolina (1-0) at 5 p.m. 
 

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'Rising Phoenix' is a student-led initiative to cover Elon Athletics. Through innovative content creation and storytelling, Elon University students will have the opportunity to highlight the moments, people and events that make an impact, leveraging the athletic department's various web and social media platforms for distribution. Follow Rising Phoenix on X (@EURisingPhoenix) and Instagram (@elonrisingphoenix). Interested in joining this initiative as a content creator (video, graphics, writing, storytelling, or more)? Contact Chase Strawser at cstrawser@elon.edu.

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