ELON, N.C. – The Elon women's lacrosse team (9-6, 5-2 CAA) is set to close out the regular season on the road against Drexel (12-3, 6-1 CAA) on Saturday afternoon in Philadelphia. The matchup marks the ninth all-time meeting between the programs and will serve as a postseason preview, with both teams locked into the 2025 CAA Tournament.

The Phoenix enter the weekend on a three-game win streak, most recently powering past Queens 18-9 on Wednesday night at Rudd Field. MJ Santa Barbara set a new single-game program record with 16 draw controls. Sammy Fisher and Mackenzie Coleman each recorded four points and three goals, marking a career high for Coleman. Defensively, Caitlin Walsh tallied four saves and led a unit that held Queens scoreless for more than 25 minutes across the first and second quarters.

Drexel, ranked #23 in the nation by Inside Lacrosse, aims to finish conference play undefeated at home. Saturday's contest serves as a final tune-up before the CAA Championship in May, with Elon looking to knock off a ranked opponent and match its highest win total since 2017.

HOW TO FOLLOW

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SCOUTING DREXEL

• Drexel enters as the No. 2 seed in the CAA with a 12-3 overall record and a 6-1 mark in conference play. The Dragons' only CAA loss came on the road against undefeated Stony Brook.
• Drexel features a dynamic offense, ranking second in the CAA in goals per game and third in points per game. The unit is highly efficient, leading the league with a .447 shooting percentage. Allison Drake headlines the attack with 54 points and 46 goals, ranking third in the CAA in goals per game. The Dragons have three players in the top 10 for goals per game and two in the top 10 for assists per game.
• Defensively, Drexel has allowed a conference-low 148 goals and owns the CAA's second-best save percentage at .475. Camryn Ryan leads the defensive unit with 22 caused turnovers.
• Head coach Katie O'Donnell is in her fourth season at the helm and second since being named the permanent head coach. She guided Drexel to its first-ever CAA Championship in 2022.

SERIES HISTORY VS. DREXEL

• Saturday's game marks the ninth all-time meeting between Elon and Drexel. Elon holds a 2-1 advantage on the road in the series.
• The most recent matchup came in 2024, when Drexel earned an 18-9 win at Rudd Field. Drexel opened the game with a 5-1 run in the first seven minutes and never trailed. Kaitlyn Michaud led Elon with four goals, and Corinne Bednarik led Drexel with four goals and two assists.

CAA HONORS

• Sammy Fisher was named the 2024-25 CAA Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year, boasting a 3.95 GPA and leading the team in scoring with 55 points.
• Reagan Kuehn earned CAA Co-Defensive Player of the Week on March 17 after totaling seven caused turnovers and nine ground balls across games against High Point and Monmouth.
• Danielle Swietoniowski was named CAA Rookie of the Week on March 24 after posting a five-point outing (3G, 2A) in a win over Hofstra.
• Lillian Austin took home CAA Co-Rookie of the Week on March 31, recording her first career hat trick in a 13-10 win over Campbell.
• Caitlin Walsh earned CAA Co-Defensive Player of the Week on April 21 after anchoring the Phoenix defense in a 16-8 win over Towson. She made six saves and posted a .429 save percentage, helping hold the Tigers scoreless in the third quarter.
• Lillian Austin picked up her second CAA Rookie of the Week award on April 21, dishing out a career-high five assists in the win over Towson.

SUPER SAMMY

• Sammy Fisher continues to leave her mark in the program record book. The senior currently ranks third all-time at Elon with 155 career points, while sitting second in goals with 125. Fisher is also fifth in career assists (30), second in total shots (294), eighth in free-position goals (14), and fourth all-time in draw controls (153). As it stands, she's seventh in career games started with 60.
• As the regular season winds down, Fisher has continued to climb the program's single-season leaderboards. With one game remaining, she holds the second-most points in a single season (59), ranks third in goals (43), and sits seventh in assists (16) and third in total shots (101).
• Her production has only improved as the team wraps up CAA play. With one conference game remaining, Fisher has already set a new program record for most points in a single CAA season with 31. She also sits tied for first in both goals (25) and shots (50) in league play.
• On top of her on-field achievements, Fisher was named the 2024-25 CAA Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year, boasting a 3.95 GPA as a sport management major.

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 2025 regular season due to injury. Since her return, she has barely skipped a beat.
• In her first game back, she tied her own single-game program record with 15 draw controls at High Point — a mark she originally set in last year's win over Monmouth. She then broke the record with 16 draw controls against Queens, the most in a single game by any player in the CAA this season.
• Santa Barbara had 12 draw controls in the win over Campbell, breaking the school's career draw control record, in just her 21st career game, and giving her an even 200 for her career.
• Since that point, she has increased her draw control total to 250, which ranks fifth in CAA history. She is 15 behind Stony Brook's Ellie Masera for fourth.
• Since her return, Elon has posted a 62.7% draw control win rate (163-97), a notable improvement from the 49.3% rate across the first six games without her. That 62.7% mark would rank tied for sixth nationally. Loyola Maryland leads the country at .724 and James Madison follows at .660.
• Although she does not qualify for national leaderboards due to missed games (players must compete in 75% of team contests), Santa Barbara is averaging 11.00 draw controls per game, a figure that would rank fifth nationally. James Madison's Madison Epke leads the nation with 12.60.

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 12th season at the helm of the Elon lacrosse program in 2025 as the only head coach in the program's history. He currently holds a record of 87-96, including a 32-35 mark in conference play. Hexter has a career head coaching mark of 159-138, 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 returned 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 155, 4. Cierra Hopson 132, t9. Anna Hackett 71
Goals – 2. Sammy Fisher 125, 3. Cierra Hopson 95, 7. Anna Hackett 64
Assists – 3. Cierra Hopson 37, 5. Sammy Fisher 30, 8. Mia Zebley 23
Shots – 2. Sammy Fisher 294, 3. Cierra Hopson 219, 9. Anna Hackett 139
Free Position Goals – 4. Anna Hackett 22, 8. Sammy Fisher 14, 10. Mia Zebley 12, 11. Cierra Hopson 11
Ground Balls – 8. Caitlin Walsh 74, 9. Reagan Kuehn 66
Draw Controls – 1. MJ Santa Barbara 250, 4. Sammy Fisher 153
Caused Turnovers – 7. Reagan Kuehn 47, 8. Jessie Penner 39 9. Brooke Scheuermann 38
Games Played – 10. Cierra Hopson 64, 11. Sammy Fisher 63
Games Started – 7. Sammy Fisher 60, 10. Cierra Hopson 54
Saves – 2. Caitlin Walsh 327, 6. Chloe Herghelegiu 79
Save Percentage – 4. Caitlin Walsh .375, 6. Chloe Herghelegiu .329
GAA – 5. Caitlin Walsh 12.97, 7. Chloe Herghelegiu 14.65
Goalie Minutes – 2. Caitlin Walsh 2515:43, 6. Chloe Herghelegiu 659:26
Goalie Wins – 2. Caitlin Walsh 20, t4. Chloe Herghelegiu 4
 
SINGLE-SEASON MARKS

• With one game remaining in the regular season, Elon is moving into the top 10 in some single-season marks.

 
Points – 2. Sammy Fisher 59
Goals – 3. Sammy Fisher 43, 9. Ana Lee Vandiver 35
Assists – 7. Sammy Fisher 16, 10. Cierra Hopson 12
Shots – 3. Sammy Fisher 101, 8. Ana Lee Vandiver 83
Draw Controls – 2. MJ Santa Barbara 99, 5. Sammy Fisher 66
Caused Turnovers – 6. Reagan Kuehn 23
Saves – 9. Caitlin Walsh 88
Goals Against Average – 9. Caitlin Walsh 11.94
Goalie Minutes – 7. Caitlin Walsh 838:56

SINGLE-SEASON CONFERENCE MARKS

• With one conference game remaining, Elon is moving into the top five marks in program history for conference-only stats.

 
Points – 1. Sammy Fisher 31, 2. Ana Lee Vandiver 26
Goals – t1. Sammy Fisher 21, t1. Ana Lee Vandiver 21
Shots – t1. Sammy Fisher 50, 3. Ana Lee Vandiver 45
Draw Controls – 2. MJ Santa Barbara 68
Caused Turnovers – t2. Reagan Kuehn 9, t2. Eliza Ritter 9
 
SINGLE-SEASON FRESHMEN CONFERENCE MARKS

• With one conference game remaining, Elon is moving into the top five marks in program history for conference-only stats by freshmen.

 
Assists – t3. Danielle Swietoniowski 6, t3. Lillian Austin 6
Free position goals – t6. Danielle Swietoniowski 2, t6. Addie Gilner 2
 
SINGLE-SEASON TEAM MARKS

• With one game remaining in the regular season, Elon is moving into the top five marks in program history for team stats.

 
Wins – t3. Elon 9
Points – 4. Elon 254
Goals – 5. Elon 178
Assists – 2. Elon 76
Draw Controls – 2. Elon 235
Caused Turnovers – 5. Elon 119
Clear Percentage – 3. Elon .888 (214/241)
 
SINGLE-SEASON CONFERENCE TEAM MARKS

• With one CAA game remaining, Elon is moving into the top five marks in program history for team stats.

 
Wins – t1. Elon 5
Points – 1. Elon 133
Goals – 2. Elon 86
Assists – 1. Elon 47
Caused Turnovers – 3. Elon 52
Draw Controls – 2. Elon 117
Ground Balls – 5. Elon 92
Clear Percentage – t3. Elon .874 (104/119)
 
AMONG THE NATIONAL LEADERS

• Elon ranks among the national top 50 in the following team and national top 50 in the following individual statistical categories:

 
Team Rankings
Draw Control Percentage – 17. Elon .579
Draw Controls/Game – 25. Elon 15.67
Turnovers/Game – 43. Elon 14.20
 
Individual Rankings
Shots/Game – t45. Sammy Fisher 6.73
Shots on Goal/Game – t27. Sammy Fisher 5.47
 
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
Goals/Game – 5. Elon 11.87
Points/Game – 5. Elon 16.93
Shot Percentage – 4. Elon .427
Shots On Goal/Game – 4. Elon 21.13
Woman-Up Goals/Game – 2. Elon 2.13
Goals Against Average – 5. Elon 11.86
Caused Turnovers/Game – 5. Elon 7.93
Fewest Turnovers/Game – 4. Elon 14.20
Draw Controls/Game – 1. Elon 15.67
Draw Control Percentage – 1. Elon .579
 
Individual Rankings
Points/Game – 5. Sammy Fisher 3.93
Goals/Game – 6. Sammy Fisher 2.87
Shots/Game – 4. Sammy Fisher 6.73, 9. Ana Lee Vandiver 5.53
Goals Against Average – 5. Caitlin Walsh 11.94
Saves/Game – 8. Caitlin Walsh 5.87
Save Percentage – 9. Caitlin Walsh .345
Ground Balls/Game – 9. Caitlin Walsh 2.20
Draw Controls/Game – 1. MJ Santa Barbara 11.00, 7. Sammy Fisher 4.40
Caused Turnovers/Game – 6. Reagan Kuehn 1.53