Elon, N.C. – The Elon women's lacrosse team looks to extend its five-game CAA regular season win streak Sunday as the Phoenix welcomes Hofstra to Rudd Field for an 11 a.m. conference tussle. Elon enters the contest at 4-4 overall and 1-0 in CAA play – the program closed 2024 with four straight league victories. Hofstra is 5-3 overall and 0-1 in the conference prior to a Friday evening affair with William & Mary before facing the Phoenix.
 
HOW TO FOLLOW

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  • Twitter - @ElonWLax
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SCOUTING HOFSTRA

• Hofstra is 5-3 on the season and 0-1 in CAA play heading into the weekend. The Pride will play at William & Mary Friday evening before facing Elon Sunday.
• The Pride have faced one ranked opponent this year, dropping a 20-4 content to then-No. 13 Princeton. In its first CAA game, Hofstra lost to Delaware 15-9.
• Hofstra has been strong in the draw circle with a .570 win percentage, which should make for an interesting match-up with Elon. The Pride also does well clearing the ball (.904), shooting (.464 shot percentage) and scoring defense (9.88 goals per game allowed).
• Nikki Mennella makes the offense run and she is third nationally with 6.29 points per game off of 24 goals and 20 assists. Defensively, Christine Dannenfelser leads the team with 1.75 caused turnovers and 2.25 ground balls per contest.
• Shannon Smith is in her 13^th year leading the Hofstra program with a career mark of 98-102, as well as 33-35 in CAA play.

 
SERIES HISTORY VS. HOFSTRA

• Elon is 3-5 all-time against Hofstra including four consecutive losses to The Pride.
• A year ago, Hofstra recorded a 17-7 win and that comes off of 17-12 and 18-12 victories in the two previous years.
• Elon won three straight from 2016-18, scoring at least 12 goals in each contest.
• Last year, Hofstra led 4-3 after the first quarter but scored all eight second quarter goals for a 12-3 halftime advantage. The Phoenix never recovered in the 17-7 defeat.

 
MJ IN THE DRAW CIRCLE

• Sophomore draw specialist MJ Santa Barbara was named a preseason All-American after bursting onto the scene with a CAA record 151 draw controls a year ago. However, she missed Elon's first six games of the regular season due to injury. Since her return, she has barely skipped a beat.
• Santa Barbara tied her own single-game program record with 15 draw controls in her first game back at High Point. She set that mark a year ago in Elon's win over Monmouth. The 15 draw controls are tied for the most in the CAA this season (Drexel's Anna Maria Gragnani also had 15).
• With Santa Barbara back in the lineup, Elon holds a 44-18 advantage in the draw circle for a .710 win percentage. The Phoenix's draw win percentage over the course of the first six games without Santa Barbara was .493.
• Elon's .710 win percentage would easily rank first nationally. Loyola Maryland currently leads the country with a .661 win percentage.
• Santa Barbara's 13.00 draw controls per game since her return would also lead the country. Dartmouth's Maya Kendall is the official national leader at 12.29 per game.

 
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.

 
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 12^th 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.

 
CLEARING IT OUT

• In 2024, Elon set the program record with an .892 clear percentage for the season. The Phoenix is on pace to shatter that mark this year.
• Elon is 109/120 on clears this year for a .908 percentage. That ranks just outside of the top 25 nationally (No. 27 as of March 20).
• The Phoenix has had a perfect clear rate twice this year, doing so in wins at Coastal Carolina and at Monmouth. Elon was just one clear shy of perfect in three straight games against VCU, East Carolina and Notre Dame.

 
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 – 3. Sammy Fisher 124, 4. Cierra Hopson 123, t9. Anna Hackett 71
Goals – 2. Sammy Fisher 104, 3. Cierra Hopson 92, 7. Anna Hackett 64
Assists – t4. Cierra Hopson 31, 8. Sammy Fisher 20, t9. Mia Zebley 17
Shots – 2. Sammy Fisher 251, 3. Cierra Hopson 211, 9. Anna Hackett 139
Free Position Goals – 4. Anna Hackett 22, t9. Cierra Hopson 11, t9. Sammy Fisher 11, t9. Mia Zebley 11
Draw Controls – 2. MJ Santa Barbara 177, 4. Sammy Fisher 123
Saves – 2. Caitlin Walsh 290, 6. Chloe Herghelegiu 73
Save Percentage – 4. Caitlin Walsh .382, 7. Chloe Herghelegiu .324
GAA – 5. Caitlin Walsh 13.18, 7. Chloe Herghelegiu 14.72
Goalie Minutes – 2. Caitlin Walsh 2135:25, 6. Chloe Herghelegiu 619:44
Goalie Wins – t2. Caitlin Walsh 15, t4. Chloe Herghelegiu 4
 
SINGLE-SEASON MARKS

• With conference play just getting underway, Elon is already threatening to move into the top 10 in some single-season marks.

 
Draw Controls – t10. Sammy Fisher 36
Goals Against Average – 9. Caitlin Walsh 12.04
 
AMONG THE NATIONAL LEADERS

• Elon ranks among the national top 25 in the following team and individual statistical categories:

 
Team Rankings
Fewest Turnovers/Game – 13. 12.38
 
Individual Rankings
Caused Turnovers/Game – 24. Reagan Kuehn 2.00
Shots on Goal/Game – 13. Sammy Fisher 6.00
 
AMONG THE CAA LEADERS

• Elon ranks among the CAA top five in the following team stats and among the top 10 in the following individual stats:

 
Team Rankings
Shots On Goal/Game – 4. 21.63
Woman-Down Goals/Game – t4. 0.14
Woman-Up Goals/Game – 3. 1.63
Goals Against Average – 5. 11.73
Caused Turnovers/Game – 4. 9.00
Fewest Turnovers/Game – 1. 12.38
Draw Controls/Game – 3. 14.50
 
Individual Rankings
Goals/Game – t7. Sammy Fisher 2.75
Points/Game – t9. Sammy Fisher 3.50
Shots/Game – 3. Sammy Fisher 7.25, 10. Ana Lee Vandiver 5.50
Goals Against Average – 8. Caitlin Walsh 12.04
Save Percentage – 9. Caitlin Walsh .357
Saves/Game – 6. Caitlin Walsh 6.38
Ground Balls/Game – t8. Caitlin Walsh 2.38, t8. Reagan Kuehn 2.38
Draw Controls/Game – 5. Sammy Fisher 4.50
Caused Turnovers/Game – 4. Reagan Kuehn 2.00