Newark, Del. – Winners of seven consecutive CAA games, the Elon University women's lacrosse team heads on the road to face conference opponent Delaware Friday. A critical game for both teams in their attempts to qualify for the CAA Tournament, the match-up begins at 1:00 p.m. in Delaware Stadium. Elon is 6-4 overall and 3-0 in CAA play, while Delaware is 6-5 overall and 2-2 in conference action.
 
HOW TO FOLLOW

• Live stats are available by CLICKING HERE
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SCOUTING DELAWARE

• Delaware is 6-5 on the season, including a 2-2 mark in CAA play. The Blue Hens are one of a handful of teams battling for a top four spot in the conference and an appearance in the CAA Tournament. A win Friday would go a long way towards that.
• Delaware's CAA losses have come to the other two unbeaten teams in league play, Stony Brook and Drexel. The Blue Hens defeated Monmouth and Hofstra.
• Defensively, Delaware has been strong this year, ranking No. 6 nationally with 11.82 caused turnovers per game. The Blue Hens are No. 21 in ground balls at 18.45 as well. When earning free position opportunities, Delaware is the best in the CAA at converting with a .527 percentage.
• Erin Gormley leads the effort in caused turnovers, averaging 1.91 per game, second-most in the CAA. Offensively, Delaney McDaniel is the top goal-scorer with 22 and leads with 42 points on the season.
• Head Coach Amy Altig was hired at Delaware for the 2020 season and she is 32-39 in her sixth season leading the program. Last year's 10-6 record was the program's high-water mark under her leadership.

 
SERIES HISTORY VS. DELAWARE

• This will be the 10^th meeting all-time between and Elon and Delaware with the Phoenix holding a slim 5-4 advantage. Elon won the meeting last year, snapping a three-game losing streak to the Blue Hens.
• Four of the last five meetings between the two programs have been decided by one goal, including each of the last two.
• A year ago, Elon won 16-15 but the Phoenix led by four until Delaware made a late run. The Blue Hens scored three straight and their goal with 2:30 to play brought them within one. Delaware had two possessions in the final minutes with a chance to tie it but the first one turned into a turnover and Elon goalie Caitlin Walsh saved a shot with 13 seconds remaining to seal the victory.

 
BREAKING DOWN THE CAA

• Four teams will make the CAA Tournament, with the semifinals taking place May 1 and the championship on May 3. Both rounds will take place at the No. 1 overall seed.
• Currently, Drexel (4-0), Stony Brook (3-0) and Elon (3-0) are the only unbeaten teams remaining in conference play. Delaware follows at 2-2 in CAA action. Hofstra and Towson are both 1-2 and looking to make a move into the top four.
• Since joining the CAA for the 2023 season, Stony Brook in 18-0 in conference play. Elon has second-longest active conference win streak at seven games, while Drexel has won five in a row.

 
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).
• Santa Barbara had 12 draw controls in the win over Campbell, giving her an even 200 for her career, 11^th-best in CAA history. With her eighth in that game, she became Elon's all-time career draw control leader – in just her 21^st career game.
• With Santa Barbara back in the lineup, Elon holds a 78-38 advantage in the draw circle for a .672 win percentage. The Phoenix's draw win percentage over the course of the first six games without Santa Barbara was .493.
• Elon's .672 win percentage since Santa Barbara's return would rank second nationally. Loyola Maryland leads the country at .680 and James Madison follows at .659.
• Santa Barbara's 12.25 draw controls per game since her return would also rank second in the country. James Madison's Madison Epke leads the nation at 12.82 and Dartmouth's Maya Kendall is second at 12.00.

 
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 80-92 in the first 12 years of the program and has a career head coaching mark of 152-134, 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 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 133, 4. Cierra Hopson 127, t9. Anna Hackett 71
Goals – 2. Sammy Fisher 110, 3. Cierra Hopson 93, 7. Anna Hackett 64
Assists – 3. Cierra Hopson 34, 7. Sammy Fisher 23, 9. Mia Zebley 20
Shots – 2. Sammy Fisher 266, 3. Cierra Hopson 215, 9. Anna Hackett 139
Free Position Goals – 4. Anna Hackett 22, t8. Sammy Fisher 12, t10. Cierra Hopson 11, t10. Mia Zebley 11
Ground Balls – t9. Caitlin Walsh 60
Draw Controls – 1. MJ Santa Barbara 200, 4. Sammy Fisher 130
Caused Turnovers – 7. Reagan Kuehn 42, 10. Brooke Scheuermann 35
Games Started – 9. Sammy Fisher 55
Saves – 2. Caitlin Walsh 299, 6. Chloe Herghelegiu 79
Save Percentage – 4. Caitlin Walsh .383, 6. Chloe Herghelegiu .329
GAA – 5. Caitlin Walsh 13.05, 7. Chloe Herghelegiu 14.65
Goalie Minutes – 2. Caitlin Walsh 2215:43, 6. Chloe Herghelegiu 659:26
Goalie Wins – 2. Caitlin Walsh 17, t4. Chloe Herghelegiu 4
 
SINGLE-SEASON MARKS

• With conference play now three games in, Elon is already threatening to move into the top 10 in some single-season marks.

 
Shots – 11. Sammy Fisher 73
Draw Controls – t9. MJ Santa Barbara 49
Caused Turnover – t9. Reagan Kuehn 18
Goals Against Average – 9. Caitlin Walsh 11.69
 
SINGLE-SEASON CONFERENCE MARKS

• With conference play now three games in, Elon is already moving into the top five marks in program history for conference only stats.

 
Draw Controls – 3. MJ Santa Barbara 34
Goals Against Average – 5. Caitlin Walsh 9.84
 
SINGLE-SEASON FRESHMEN CONFERENCE MARKS

• With conference play now three games in, Elon is already moving into the top five marks in program history for conference only stats by freshmen.

 
Assists – T4. Danielle Swietoniowski 4
 
SINGLE-SEASON TEAM MARKS

• With conference play now three games in, Elon is already moving into the top five marks in program history for team stats.

 
Clear Percentage – 1. Elon .901 (137/152)
 
SINGLE-SEASON CONFERENCE TEAM MARKS

• With conference play now three games in, Elon is already moving into the top five marks in program history for team stats.

 
Wins – t4. Elon 3
Assists – 2. Elon 24
Clear Percentage – 1. Elon .913
 
 
AMONG THE NATIONAL LEADERS

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

 
Team Rankings
Draw Control Percentage – 19. Elon .573
Fewest Turnovers/Game – 15. Elon 12.90
 
Individual Rankings
Shots/Game – 25. Sammy Fisher 7.30
Shots on Goal/Game – 17. Sammy Fisher 5.90
 
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
Caused Turnovers/Game – 4. Elon 8.50
Clearing Percentage – 4. Elon .901
Draw Control Percentage – 1. Elon .573
Draw Controls/Game – 1. 15.00
Shots/Game – 4. 28.80
Shots On Goal/Game – 3. 21.70
Fewest Turnovers/Game – 1. 12.90
 
Individual Rankings
Caused Turnovers/Game – 4. Reagan Kuehn 1.80
Draw Controls/Game – 4. Sammy Fisher 4.30
Free Position Percentage – 7. Lila Ceribelli .500
Goals/Game – 5. Sammy Fisher 2.80
Goals Against Average – 5. Caitlin Walsh 11.69
Points/Game – 6. Sammy Fisher 3.70
Save Percentage – 7. Caitlin Walsh .364
Saves/Game – 7. Caitlin Walsh 6.00
Shots/Game – 3. Sammy Fisher 7.30, 10. Ana Lee Vandiver 5.60
Shots On Goal/Game – 1. Sammy Fisher 5.90, 8. Ana Lee Vandiver 4.10