ELON – Coming off a season-long four-match homestand, the Elon women's soccer team (7-1-3, 2-0-1 CAA) returns to the road Saturday for a critical CAA South Division battle against unbeaten UNCW (6-0-6, 1-0-2 CAA). Kickoff at UNCW Soccer Stadium is set for 6 p.m.

Elon at UNCW Briefing
Match Details: Oct. 3 | Wilmington, N.C. | UNCW Soccer Stadium | 6 p.m.
Watch: FloCollege
Live Stats: StatBroadcast
Admission: Buy Tickets
Elon Links: News | Roster | Schedule | Stats
UNCW Links: News | Roster | Schedule | Stats
 
The UNCW Series

• The Seahawks lead the all-time series against Elon, 21-3-5.
• The Phoenix and Seahawks have split the last nine meetings, 3-3-3.
• Elon knocked UNCW out of last year's CAA Tournament in the semifinals, winning a penalty shootout 6-5 after the teams played to a scoreless draw in Wilmington. The Seahawks were the regular season champions of the South Division.
• The Phoenix won its most recent regular season road trip against UNCW in 2024, coming from down a goal to win 2-1. That victory was Elon's first against the Seahawks in Wilmington as a Division I program.

 
Storylines To Follow

• First-Place Clash: Elon and UNCW are the top two teams in the CAA South standings entering this weekend. The Phoenix would pull four points clear of the Seahawks with a victory Saturday, while UNCW could jump Elon for first place with three points. The Seahawks enter October unbeaten, with six victories and six ties to their name.
• Red-Hot Offense: Elon ranks top 20 nationally in goals (29), assists (34), points (92) and goal differential (plus-20). The Phoenix has scored multiple goals in eight of its 11 contests, including six goals in a road win against South Carolina State on Aug. 20 and five at VMI on Sept. 3. Elon scored 24 goals in nonconference play, the most nonconference goals for the Phoenix since 2019.
• Balanced Attack: Elon's 29 goals this season have come from 15 different scorers. Additionally, of the 22 field players to log minutes for Elon this season, 18 have notched at least one point.
• Hats Off For Isa: Isa Murdock leads all CAA scorers with 16 points this season and is tied for second in the conference in goals (6) and tied for fourth in assists (4). Murdock became the first Phoenix to score a hat trick since 2023 earlier this season with three goals against VMI. She was named CAA Offensive Player of the Week on Sept. 7.
• First-Time Goal Scorers: Six different Elon players have scored their first career goal this season – Nicole Kleyner (3), Maya Abousaab (2), Hannah Carlson, Isabel DiPrima, Jessica Hill and Emerson Rogers. Gabby Tirado's three goals this season are also her first with the Phoenix after transferring to Elon from Marist.
• The Great Gabby: Tirado is second on the Phoenix with 10 points this season in her debut Elon campaign. She has three points through Elon's first three CAA contests, and her four assists are tied for the fourth most in the conference. The junior scored last weekend against Hofstra to secure a 1-1 tie for the Phoenix.
• Helping Hand: Talia Feigin leads the CAA with six assists on the campaign after assisting on goals in each of Elon's first two CAA victories. The senior became the first Elon player to notch three assists in a match since 2023 with a trio of second-half helpers on Sept. 3 at VMI.
• GG: Grace Gelhaus, the reigning CAA Defensive Player of the Year, has seven points this season with one goal and five assists. The seven points are tied for the most by a CAA defender.
• Person Of Interest: Naomi Person has started 10 of Elon's 11 matches in goal this season, the first starts of her college career. She has contributed to three shutouts alongside Anica Carpenter and added her first career solo shutout Sept. 20 against Campbell.
• Kleyner Plays Hero: Kleyner scored the game-winning goal for the Phoenix in its CAA championship rematch against Stony Brook last week, converting in the 86th minute to help Elon win, 2-1. Kleyner became the first Elon freshman to net a game-winning goal since Jordan Green against Hampton in 2023.
• Rookies Of The Week: Elon swept the first two CAA Rookie of the Week awards this season, with Kleyner winning it on Aug. 17 before Carlson made it back-to-back for the Phoenix by earning the honor on Aug. 24.  
• Let's Go, Dan: Green is having a career-best scoring season. The senior captain scored her career-best third goal of the season last week against Stony Brook, helping the Phoenix win the CAA championship rematch. Her eight points this season are also a career best and are tied with Feigin for the third most on the Phoenix.
• On The Road Again: Saturday begins a stretch of three straight CAA road matches for the Phoenix. Elon will head north next weekend for a pair of CAA North matchups against Northeastern (Oct. 8) and Monmouth (Oct. 11). The Phoenix is 2-1-2 away from home this season. 
• All-CAA Honorees: The Phoenix was picked to finish first in the CAA South Division preseason poll. Additionally, Gelhaus, Murdock, Katie Bisgrove and Ava Hellner were all named to the preseason all-conference team. 

 
Last Time Out

• Elon came from behind to tie Hofstra, 1-1, on Sunday at Rudd Field to remain unbeaten at home and in CAA play.
• After Hofstra scored a first-half goal, Tirado answered in the 50th minute off assists from Lauren McCauley and DiPrima to tie the match.
• The goal was Tirado's first in CAA play. DiPrima has now assisted in back-to-back matches, while McCauley's helper was her first point since Aug. 30 against High Point.
• Alexis Pierce and Hellner played all 90 minutes for Elon. This was Hellner's first time going the full distance for the Phoenix this season.
• Person played the first half in goal for Elon with Carpenter relieving her for the second half. Carpenter made a pair of saves while tending the net.
• In total, 20 different Phoenix saw action Sunday. Everyone that played logged 19 or more minutes.
• This was Elon's second tie this season after its opponent scored the opening goal. The Phoenix also came from down a goal to tie against Davidson on Aug. 27.
• It was the second straight match Elon had come from behind to rescue points in the conference standings after coming from down to beat Stony Brook, 2-1, earlier in the week.

 
Defending Champions

• Elon won its second CAA title last fall, its first since the spring 2021 season.
• The Phoenix finished third in the South Division and clinched a CAA Tournament berth with a tie against College of Charleston on the last day of the regular season. Elon rode a six-match unbeaten streak into the postseason.
• Elon started its tournament with a 1-0 road win over William & Mary behind an Ashlee Brehio goal. In the semifinals, the Phoenix eliminated UNCW, the South's top seed, on the road via a penalty shootout following a scoreless draw to advance to the championship match.
• In the CAA final, Elon upended Stony Brook on the road in penalty kicks after a 1-1 decision on Long Island. Bisgrove made 10 saves in the contest to finish Elon's championship run with 28 stops.
• The Phoenix led the CAA last season in goal differential, goals against average, save percentage and shutout percentage. Elon allowed just 16 goals in 21 matches, conceding just 11 times in conference play.
• Elon also had a top-three scoring offense in the conference, netting 1.78 goals per match in CAA play.

 
Scouting UNCW

• The Seahawks are one of six remaining unbeaten teams in Division I and the lone CAA team to not suffer a defeat.
• UNCW enters Saturday's match with a 6-0-6 record and a 1-0-2 mark in CAA play. The Seahawks tied both their conference matches over the weekend against Monmouth and Northeastern.
• The Seahawks opened conference play with a 6-0 shutout win at Hampton.
• UNCW is second to Elon in goals scored among CAA teams with 24 through its first 12 matches. The Seahawks have a plus-15 goal differential on the campaign.
• Hailey Longwell and Caigan Leonard are tied for the team lead with 11 points each. Kamrey Watkins is close behind with 10 points.
• Longwell and Leonard both have four goals and three assists on the campaign.
• Six different Seahawks have logged three or more assists on the season – Watkins (4), Allie Planeaux (4), Ava Vaughan (4), Jada Tuffin (4), Leonard (3) and Longwell (3).
• Sophomore Meg Umemoto netted a brace in the victory against Hampton to earn CAA Rookie of the Week on Sept. 21.
• Both Macy Lutz (1,038) and Alyssas Chuderwicz (1,036) have logged over 1,000 minutes for the Seahawks on the back line.
• Zoe Anderson and Lili White have split the net for UNCW this season. White has started seven matches with Anderson starting five. Both goalkeepers have appeared in all 12 matches, with White seeing 13 more minutes than Anderson.
• The Seahawks are led by reigning CAA Coach of the Year Chris Neal, who is in his ninth year guiding the Seahawks. Neal previously served as Elon's head coach from 2008-17.  

 
Stay Posted    
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