ELON – The Elon University men's soccer team (0-0-1) begins its CAA regular season title defense on Saturday night, as the Phoenix heads south to face UNCW (0-1-1). Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.

Elon vs. UNCW Briefing
Match Details: Aug. 30, 2025 | Wilmington, N.C. | UNCW Soccer Stadium | 7 p.m.
Watch: FloCollege
Live Stats: StatBroadcast
Elon Links: News | Roster | Schedule | Numbers to Know
UNCW Links: News | Roster | Schedule

The UNCW Series

• Saturday will be the 17th all-time meeting between Elon and UNCW.
• The Phoenix holds a narrow 7-6-3 edge over the Seahawks in the all-time series.
• The conference rivals have squared off 10 times since Elon joined the CAA, with the series knotted at 4-4-2 during that span.
• Prior to not facing each other last season, Elon and UNCW had played every year since 2013.
• The Phoenix won the most recent matchup between the squads, 1-0, at Rudd Field on Oct. 28, 2023. Scott Vatne scored from near midfield in the 53rd minute for the only goal of the contest. It was the regular season finale for both teams and the win secured Elon's spot in the CAA Championship.
• Elon holds a 2-5-1 record in games played at Wilmington. The last win at UNCW Soccer Stadium for the Phoenix came in 2015. However, a 0-0 draw at UNCW in the final match of the 2022 regular season secured the regular season conference title for Elon.
• The Phoenix is unbeaten in its last three clashes with the Seahawks with two wins and a draw in those contests.

 
Last Time Out

• Elon opened its regular season Monday with a scoreless draw against Old Dominion at Rudd Field.
• Jackson Leavitt made his first start in goal for the Phoenix since 2023, stopping Old Dominion's lone shot on target on the way to his first full clean sheet.
• The Monarchs edged the Phoenix in shots, 9-8, but Elon put three shots on target compared to Old Dominion's one.
• The game featured 30 combined fouls, with Old Dominion racking up 16.
• It was Elon's first scoreless draw in a regular season contest since Oct. 29, 2022, when the Phoenix and UNCW finished with a 0-0 score.
• The clean sheet was Elon's first since Aug. 29, 2024, versus Coastal Carolina, snapping a 15-match streak without a shutout.

 
Preseason Praise

• Elon topped the CAA South Division in the CAA preseason poll, which was released on Aug. 14. The Phoenix received 15 points in a vote by the conference's head coaches, beating out UNCW and College of Charleston, who 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 victory 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 SoConn 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 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 is also back 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 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.  

 
Scouting UNCW

• UNCW comes into Sunday's contest with an 0-1-1 record this season. The Seahawks opened their campaign with a home loss to UMBC before partaking in a scoreless draw at Georgia Southern on Sunday.
• The Seahawks were tied for second in the CAA South preseason poll along with College of Charleston.
• Last season, the Seahawks finished the regular season with a 6-9-5 record and a 4-4 mark in conference play. UNCW advanced to the CAA championship match with conference tournament triumphs over Monmouth and Drexel.
• Osei Gyamfi and Jake Shannon were chosen to the CAA Preseason All-CAA Team with Ethan Newsome, Cesare D'Amico, Gavin Carmichael and Trey Smiley earning honorable mention recognition.
• Newsome netted UNCW's lone goal this season against UMBC on an unassisted tally.
• Smiley posted a clean sheet in the match against Georgia Southern. He has made four saves in the opening two games.
• The Seahawks are led by head coach Aidan Heaney, who is in his 25th season at the helm of the program.

 
Stay Posted  
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