Conway, S.C. – The Elon women's lacrosse team leaves the state of North Carolina for the first time this year, facing Coastal Carolina Saturday at noon. Elon has played four consecutive home games since a season-opening contest at Duke.
 
Coastal Carolina is 4-2 in 2025 and features an explosive offense and has scored 15+ goals four times already. Elon is 2-3 but has held three straight opponents to eight goals or fewer. The Phoenix is unbeaten against non-ACC opponents at 2-0. The two programs have played three consecutive one-goal games.
 
HOW TO FOLLOW

• Live stats are available by CLICKING HERE
• The game is scheduled to be broadcast on ESPN+ by CLICKING HERE
• Follow the official social media accounts of Elon Lacrosse:
  • Twitter - @ElonWLax
  • Instagram - @ElonWLax

 
SCOUTING COASTAL CAROLINA

• Coastal Carolina enters Saturday's contest with a record of 4-2 overall, including a 2-2 mark at home. The Chanticleers opened the season with a 13-11 loss to CAA foe William & Mary but has won three straight entering the game. Among common opponents, Coastal Carolina beat ECU 15-14 in overtime Saturday.
• The Chanticleers rank No. 17 in the country in draw controls won per game at 16.00 and have a win percentage of .539. They are also No. 18 nationally in scoring at 14.7 goals per game and rank fifth in fewest turnovers per game at 11.3.
• Senior Brigid Cardillo has 17 assists ranking No. 14 in the country, despite playing in just four games this year for Coastal Carolina. She had 28 points, including a 10-point performance (nine assists) in a win at Wofford. Evelyn Kitchin is averaging 7.0 draw controls per game as well.
• Head Coach Rachel Shuck Whitten has led the Coastal Carolina program since 2022 after spending seven years as the head coach at Furman. She was 68-49 at Furman and is currently 36-26 with the Chanticleers, leading their program to more wins in each of her three-plus seasons.

 
SERIES HISTORY VS. COASTAL CAROLINA

• Elon is 8-2 all-time against Coastal Carolina but the Chanticleers have won two of the last three meetings between the programs.
• Elon won the first seven times the two teams have played but each of the last three meetings have been decided by one goal.
• The run began in 2022 when Coastal Carolina won 15-14 in overtime on Rudd Field. Elon answered back with a 16-15 victory in 2023 in Conway. Last year, Coastal Carolina picked up an 8-7 win in Elon.
• Last year, Elon led most of the way and the Phoenix had a 7-6 lead in the fourth quarter but Coastal Carolina scored twice in the final 7:10 for the 8-7 victory.

 
THE TURNOVER BATTLE

• For the second consecutive game, turnovers will be an interesting facet to watch Saturday.
• Coastal Carolina is turning it over just 11.33 times per game, fifth-fewest in the nation. Elon ranks No. 15 with only 12.60 turnovers per game.
• CCU had just eight turnovers in its most recent game, a win over East Carolina, and has peaked with 17 turnovers in a win over Charlotte.
• Elon had only 10 turnovers against Virginia Tech and had a season-high 15 turnovers in each of its wins this year, victories over VCU and East Carolina.

 
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.

 
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. Cierra Hopson 115, 5. Sammy Fisher 110, t9. Anna Hackett 71
Goals – 2. Sammy Fisher 92, 4. Cierra Hopson 88, 7. Anna Hackett 64
Assists – 5. Cierra Hopson 27, 8. Sammy Fisher 18, t10. Mia Zebley 16
Shots – 2. Sammy Fisher 221, 3. Cierra Hopson 199, 9. Anna Hackett 139
Free Position Goals – 4. Anna Hackett 22, t9. Cierra Hopson 11, t9. Sammy Fisher 11
Draw Controls – 3. MJ Santa Barbara 151, 4. Sammy Fisher 110
Saves – 2. Caitlin Walsh 270, 6. Chloe Herghelegiu 73
Save Percentage – 4. Caitlin Walsh .387, 7. Chloe Herghelegiu .324
GAA – 5. Caitlin Walsh 13.14, 7. Chloe Herghelegiu 14.72
Goalie Minutes – 2. Caitlin Walsh 1954:33, 6. Chloe Herghelegiu 619:44
Goalie Wins – 3. Caitlin Walsh 13, t4. Chloe Herghelegiu 4
 
AMONG THE TEAM NATIONAL LEADERS

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

 
Fewest Turnovers/Game – 15. 12.60
 
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
Woman-Down Goals/Game – t2. 0.20
Woman-Up Goals/Game – t5. 1.00
Goals Against Average – 4. 10.60
Caused Turnovers/Game – 4. 9.20
Fewest Turnovers/Game – 1. 12.60
 
Individual Rankings
Shots/Game – 10. Sammy Fisher 5.60
Goals Against Average – 3. Caitlin Walsh 11.02
Save Percentage – 7. Caitlin Walsh .378
Saves/Game – 6. Caitlin Walsh 6.20
Ground Balls/Game – t4. Caitlin Walsh 2.80
Draw Controls/Game – 4. Sammy Fisher 4.60
Caused Turnovers/Game – t5. Jessie Penner 1.80, 10. Reagan Kuehn 1.40