ELON – The Elon University men's soccer team opens its season on the road Thursday night, as the Phoenix travels to Birmingham, Alabama, to face UAB. Kickoff is scheduled for 8 p.m. ET.
Elon vs. UAB Briefing
Match Details: Aug. 21, 2025 | Birmingham, Ala. | PNC Field | 8 p.m. ET
The UAB Series
- Elon and UAB have met just once before, with the Phoenix defeating the Blazers, 2-0, in Greensboro on Sept. 10, 2006.
- This will be Elon's first time playing an opponent from The American since 2023 when the Phoenix faced Charlotte.
Preseason Praise
- Elon topped the South Division in the CAA preseason poll, which was released last week. The Phoenix received 15 points in a vote by the coaches from the South Division, beating out UNCW and College of Charleston, which tied for second with 12 points.
- Three Phoenix were named to the preseason All-CAA team – Charlie Kitch, Majaliwa Msabaha and Colin Veltri.
- Msabaha, a senior captain, made 17 starts for the Phoenix last season, logging 1,469 minutes. He is a two-time All-CAA performer (2022 and 2023) and has played 51 career games in his three seasons with the program. In 2024, Msabaha played the full 90 minutes on 13 occasions, including in each of Elon's final five tilts.
- In his debut campaign with the Phoenix in 2024, Veltri earned All-CAA Second Team honors despite only playing in the team's first eight matches. Even after missing Elon's final 10 games due to injury, Veltri finished second on the team in both goals (6) and points (15). He scored all six of his goals in a five-game span that started against Coastal Carolina on Aug. 29. During that stretch, he netted a pair of goals in Elon's 4-3 comeback victory at Delaware, including the game winner, and a tally at ACC opponent Wake Forest.
- Kitch was also a Second Team All-CAA selection in 2024 in his first season with the Phoenix. The defender made 15 starts, logging 1,144 minutes. He scored a pair of goals, including one in Elon's conference victory over Stony Brook. The junior also scored a goal versus Radford and added an assist in the team's season opener against Florida Gulf Coast.
Defending Regular Season Champs
- Elon is coming off its second regular season CAA title in the last three seasons after topping the league table in 2024 with a 6-2 conference mark.
- Needing a victory in the regular season finale against Campbell to clinch the regular season crown, Elon came away with a 2-1 road win behind goals from Scott Vatne and Connor Mucchetti.
- The Phoenix finished last season with a 10-7-1 overall record. As the top seed in the CAA Championship, Elon hosted a semifinal match against No. 4 seeded Hofstra, losing 2-0 to the eventual conference champions.
- Elon went its first eight matches without a defeat and rose to as high as No. 10 in the national rankings. During that stretch, the Phoenix won its first five games by a combined score of 14-2, staged a 3-0 road comeback to defeat Delaware, 4-3, and drew on the road against ACC opponent Wake Forest.
- Vatne earned CAA Player of the Year after notching 10 goals and seven assists to lead the Phoenix in both categories. He became Elon's first conference player of the year since Daniel Lovitz took home the award for the SoCon in 2013.
- Victor Stromsten, Tomasz Wroblewski, Kitch and Veltri also earned All-CAA recognition, with all four earning a spot on the second team.
- Additionally, head coach Marc Reeves took home CAA Coach of the Year for the second time in three seasons after also winning the award in 2022.
Look Who's Back
- Elon returns several key players from last season's regular season title team, including preseason All-CAA selections Msabaha, Veltri and Kitch.
- Mucchetti is back for his second season with the Phoenix following a productive 2024. The midfielder started 17 games, scoring three goals, including the game winner in Elon's victory over Campbell that secured the CAA regular season championship for the Phoenix. Sumner Nenninger also returns as a midfielder for Elon after making 15 starts last season.
- Carlos Levy, Jack Donlan and August Guinle all return for Elon's back line. Levy started six matches last season and will serve as a team captain in 2025. Donlan and Guinle both made 15 starts and logged 1,000-plus minutes a season ago.
- Up front, Jordin Wilson is back for his junior campaign after making 16 appearances as a forward in 2024.
- Jackson Leavitt is the lone goalie on Elon's roster that has started in goal for the Phoenix before, having done so twice in 2023.
Welcome To Elon
- Elon welcomes 12 newcomers to the fold in 2025, with a crop of talented freshmen and transfers.
- The five-man freshman class includes defender Magnus Jacobsen, midfielders Dominik Renz and Diego Thompson, and goalies Mikolaj Lenarcik and Tristan D'Adamo.
- The Phoenix welcomes three midfield transfers for this season. Martin Kozak joins Elon following two years at St. John's. The junior scored four goals in 17 appearances for the Red Storm a season ago. Weston Jonke comes to Elon via West Virginia, where he logged 274 minutes as a freshman, and Oscar Tonidandel joins the Phoenix after redshirting last year at North Carolina.
- Elon added a pair of transfers at forward – Einar Ness and Alex Wharton. Ness played for South Carolina last season as a freshman, where he made five appearances and scored a goal for the Gamecocks versus Radford. Wharton joins Elon following his freshman campaign at Syracuse.
- Rounding out the transfers for Elon is goalkeeper Drew Hartman and defender Joe Taylor. Hartman, a redshirt sophomore, began his college career at Portland, while Taylor joins the Phoenix from Neosho Community College, where he was named the 2024 NJCAA Defensive Player of the Year.
New Look CAA Soccer
- Starting in 2025, the CAA will feature two divisions for men's soccer – a North and South Division.
- Elon is part of the South Division alongside Campbell, College of Charleston, UNCW and William & Mary.
- The Phoenix will face the other four South Division teams twice during the regular season, with one game at home and one on the road.
- At the end of the regular season, the top three teams from each division will qualify for the CAA Championship. The top seed in each division will receive a bye to the semifinals while the Nos. 2 and 3 seeds in both the North and South will clash in the quarterfinals.
Elon In Season Openers
- Elon is 5-2-1 in season openers under Reeves, which included a 1-0 victory over Florida Gulf Coast last year.
- Prior to a loss in the 2023 season opener against Furman, the Phoenix had won four consecutive opening day matches.
- This will be Elon's first time opening the season in a true road game since 2010, when the Phoenix fell at High Point.
- This will also be the first time the Phoenix has opened a season outside of North Carolina since 2007, when Elon faced William & Mary in Williamsburg.
Scouting UAB
- The Blazers are coming off a 4-6-5 campaign in 2024 that included a 1-4-2 record in The American.
- UAB went 2-3-2 last season at PNC Park but was winless in its last three home contests.
- The Blazers were selected seventh out of nine teams in The American preseason poll, receiving 19 votes from the league's head coaches.
- Sophomore defender Mathis Richter represented the Blazers on the Preseason All-Conference team. Richter was the American Conference Freshman of the Year in 2024 after starting all 15 games in his debut season.
- Junior forward Lucas Rizzo returns this season after leading the Blazers with four goals in 2024. Humphrey Doh and Tony Kim are also back after scoring three goals apiece last season.
- The Blazers are led by head coach David Lilly, who is in his second year at the helm.
Stay Posted
For further coverage of Elon men's soccer, follow the Phoenix on X (@ElonMSoccer), Instagram (elonmsoccer) and Facebook (Elon Men's Soccer).
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