ELON – The Elon University women's soccer team (5-0-2) takes aim at a program record Wednesday night when it hosts South Carolina State (1-6-0) at Rudd Field. The contest is scheduled to begin at 5 p.m.
A shutout against the Bulldogs would be Elon's seventh in a row, which would set a program record for most consecutive clean sheets. The Phoenix matched its record of six – which was accomplished in the program's inaugural 1986 campaign – on Sunday versus George Mason.
Elon vs. South Carolina State Briefing
Match Details: Sept. 10, 2025 | Elon, N.C. | Rudd Field | 5 p.m.
Watch: FloCollege
Live Stats: StatBroadcast
The South Carolina State Series
- Elon won its only two previous meetings against South Carolina State.
- The Phoenix defeated the Bulldogs, 2-0, in the most recent matchup versus the teams at Rudd on Sept. 29, 2016. Elon also defeated South Carolina State, 5-0, in 2015 in Orangeburg.
Last Time Out
- Elon recorded its sixth consecutive shutout Sunday in a 2-0 victory at George Mason.
- Seniors Ava Hellner and Ashlee Brehio scored Elon's two goals, both of which came in the first half.
- Hellner converted Elon's first penalty kick since 2023 for her second goal of the season. The goal came on a retake after George Mason's goalkeeper moved early to stop Isabel DiPrima's initial effort.
- Brehio's goal came on assists from Isa Murdock and Megan Dwyer. It was the 16th goal of her Elon career, which leads active Phoenix players.
- Reigning CAA Player of the Week Katie Bisgrove stopped all three of George Mason's shots on goal for her sixth consecutive shutout victory.
- The Patriots outshot the Phoenix, 16-4, but the teams finished with three shots on goal apiece.
- Jessica Hill and Alexis Pierce logged the full 90 minutes on Elon's backline. Hill has played all 630 minutes for the Phoenix this season.
- DiPrima made her first start with the Phoenix, with Jess Beck and Lilly McFadden making their first starts since Aug. 17 versus VMI.
Historic Shutout Streak
- With the shutout against the Patriots on Sunday, Elon posted its sixth consecutive clean sheet to match the program record.
- This is only the second time the Phoenix has shut out six consecutive opponents, with the other coming in the program's inaugural 1986 campaign. The six straight shutouts are the most for Elon in its Division I history.
- A shutout Wednesday against South Carolina would set a new program record for longest streak of consecutive clean sheets (7).
- Elon has not conceded a goal in the last 553:28 of game time, a stretch that began in the second half at VCU on Aug. 14. It has been over nine hours of game action since the Phoenix surrendered its only goal of the campaign.
- The Phoenix is yet to trail through 630 minutes of game time this season.
- Bisgrove has started all six shutout efforts in goal for the Phoenix. She is the first Elon goalie in program history to record a shutout in six consecutive games.
- Bisgrove is the first goalkeeper in the country to reach six shutouts this season, as she currently leads all NCAA goalkeepers in the category.
- Bisgrove's six straight clean sheets are the most by a CAA women's soccer student-athlete since Hofstra's Krystal Robens posted seven in a row in 2007.
- With the five consecutive clean sheets, Bisgrove is up to 11.5 in her career, which is already the 9th most in program history through her 24 appearances.
- Elon is tied for second nationally in shutout percentage (.857), trailing only No. 2 Tennessee.
- Elon's six shutouts are also tied for the second most in the country, just one shy of Tennessee's seven.
- The Phoenix ranks No. 2 nationally in goals against average (.143), trailing just the Volunteers.
- Elon's .967 save percentage is third best in the country, behind just Tennessee and Illinois. Bisgrove ranks in the top 10 among NCAA goalkeepers in save percentage.
Katie B Times Three
- For the third time in four weeks, Bisgrove was tabbed as the CAA Defensive Player of the Week on Monday.
- Bisgrove anchored Elon's shutout efforts against NC State and George Mason this week to reach six straight clean sheets.
- The sophomore goalkeeper stopped six shots against the Wolfpack on Thursday to preserve a scoreless draw for the Phoenix. She then made three saves in a 2-0 Elon victory at George Mason on Sunday.
- Bisgrove is the first Elon player to win three weekly honors in a season since MacKenzie Sisson won Southern Conference Player of the Week three times in 2000. She is the first Phoenix player to earn consecutive CAA Defensive Player of the Week honors.
- Bisgrove previously won the award on Aug. 18 and Sept. 1.
- Bisgrove is tied for the most saves (28) among CAA goalkeepers and leads the conference in shutouts goals against average.
Murdock's Hot Start
- Murdock leads the Phoenix with seven points on the season, with two goals and three assists. The redshirt junior is tied with Gelhaus and Hellner for a team-high two goals on the campaign. Her 22 shot attempts are 10 more than any other Phoenix player through the first seven games.
- Murdock also took the team lead in assists (3) with the primary helper on Brehio's goal Sunday at George Mason. She has an assist in two of her last three outings.
- She scored Elon's first goal of 2025 in the season opener at VCU, connecting from just outside the box after dribbling the ball from midfield. Against Gardner-Webb on Aug. 24, Murdock scored the game-winning goal in the 86th minute to propel Elon to a 1-0 victory.
- Against the Runnin' Bulldogs, Murdock paced the Phoenix with seven shot attempts and six shots on goal. She has led Elon in shot attempts in four games this season.
- Murdock's goal against the Runnin' Bulldogs was the 10th of her career, as she joined Brehio as current Elon players with double-digit career goals as a Phoenix.
GG
- Gelhaus, a preseason All-CAA selection, is second on the team with five points this season. She has almost matched her season total of seven points from a season ago in Elon's first seven games.
- The junior scored two goals in a 21-second span in Elon's 4-0 victory over VMI on Aug. 17. She also assisted on Murdock's game-winning tally against Gardner-Webb on Aug. 24.
- Gelhaus is fourth on the team with 10 shots, five of which have been on target. She has logged the fifth most minutes by Phoenix position players this season (533).
The Great Gabby
- Hoschek, a preseason All-CAA honorable mention, is off to a strong start in 2025, as her four points trail just Murdock and Gelhaus for the most on the Phoenix.
- On Aug. 28, Hoschek connected on a free kick for her first goal of the campaign, ricocheting the ball off the left post and past the Royals' goalkeeper.
- In the second half versus the Royals, Hoschek delivered the secondary assist on Hellner's header goal. It was the junior's second time recording a goal and assist in the same contest, with the other coming at Wofford on Sept. 2, 2024.
- Hoschek also tallied an assist in Elon's victory over VMI, helping on the first of two Gelhaus goals.
- Hoschek has started six of seven games for Elon this season, logging 554 minutes.
Balanced Attack
- Through the first seven games this season, Elon has had nine different scorers for its 12 goals.
- Murdock, Gelhaus and Hellner have all netted multiple goals on the campaign, with Gelhaus scoring both hers in a 21-second span versus VMI.
- Two Elon players have converted their first career goals this season. Freshman Abby Brinker scored in the second half of the VMI win, with junior Jenna Abousaab finding her first career tally in the victory at Queens.
- Beck delivered the game-winning goal for Elon on Sunday night against High Point, her second career tally.
- Brehio and junior Lauren McCauley are the other two goal scorers this season for the Phoenix.
- Additionally, 12 Elon players have recorded points on the campaign, with Gia Milano (2) Lilly McFadden (1) and Megan Dwyer (1) all recording assists.
Non-Conference Streak
- Elon extended its unbeaten streak against non-conference opponents to 13 on Sunday night with its result against George Mason. The streak started last season, and the Phoenix is 10-0-3 since the start of 2024 versus non-conference opposition.
- During that stretch, Elon has outscored its opponents, 22-5, which includes nine clean sheets.
- The 13 results have come against nine different opponents. Six have come at Rudd with other seven coming on the road.
- Elon's last loss to a non-conference foe came on Aug. 31, 2023, when the Phoenix fell at No. 12/13 South Carolina.
- Entering Wednesday's game, Elon is one of 25 unbeaten teams remaining in Division I women's soccer.
New Look CAA Soccer
- Starting in 2025, the CAA will feature two divisions for women's soccer – a North and South Division.
- Elon is part of the South Division alongside Campbell, College of Charleston, Hampton, UNCW and William & Mary.
- The Phoenix will face all five South Division teams in the regular season along with four teams from the North Division.
- 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 by to the semifinals while the Nos. 2 and 3 seeds in both the North and South will clash in the quarterfinals.
Scouting South Carolina State
- The Bulldogs enter Wednesday's contest with a 1-6-0 record on the season.
- South Carolina State fell to Alabama A&M, 3-0, in its most recent outing on Sunday. The Bulldogs have lost five straight since picking up their first victory on Aug. 22 against Alabama State.
- Kayla Moses has scored three of South Carolina State's five goals this season. Karla Gardon and Alana Watts have tallied one apiece.
- Shannilea Schliffer has South Carolina State's lone assist on the campaign.
- Jada Gittings has started all seven games in goal for the Bulldogs this season, making 17 saves.
- The Bulldogs are led by first-year head coach Andrew Richardson.
Stay Posted
For further coverage of Elon women's soccer, follow the Phoenix on X (@ElonWSoccer), Instagram (elonwsoccer) and Facebook (Elon Women's Soccer).
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