ELON – In a match that featured six second-half goals, the Elon women's soccer team (9-3-4, 4-2-2 CAA) outdueled Hampton (3-13-1, 0-8-0 CAA) for a 4-2 win Sunday on Senior Day at Rudd Field.
All six goals came after halftime with four different Phoenix finding the back of the net.
Talia Feigin scored a Senior Day goal with
Gabby Tirado,
Jess Beck and
Isa Murdock rounding out Elon's tallies.
Feigin also notched a pair of assists to finish the match with a season-best four points. Tirado added an assist as well for a three-point day with
Jenna Abousaab also helping on a Phoenix goal.
With the result, the Phoenix secured a CAA Tournament berth and the No. 2 seed for the CAA South Division bracket. Elon will host a quarterfinal match at Rudd on Nov. 5.
How It Happened
- Elon attempted the first three shots of the match with Gia Milano, Maya Abousaab and Lauren McCauley all putting balls on frame that were saved by Hampton goalkeeper Avery John.
- Reigning CAA Defensive Player of the Week Anica Carpenter made her first save of the day in the 16th minute, denying a Caitlyn Peace shot.
- McCauley and Murdock each attempted shots in the 18th minute that John turned away. Elon put its first five shots of the contest on goal.
- Murdock had Elon's best scoring chance of the first half in the 26th minute. After Milano crossed a ball from the right sideline into the box, Murdock chipped a shot that forced John to get vertical to keep the Phoenix off the scoreboard.
- The Phoenix took five more shots to close out the first half but could not find the first goal of the contest, which was scoreless entering halftime.
- Elon finally converted a chance in the 51st minute to take the lead. Feigin beat a pair of Hampton defenders on her way to the middle of the field before laying the ball over to Tirado at the top of the box. With John coming forward to challenge, Tirado dribbled the ball around the Hampton keeper and nudged it into the open net for the game's first goal.
- The Phoenix doubled the lead thanks to a senior connection in the 60th minute with Feigin finishing off a feed from Jenna Abousaab.
- The two-goal lead was short lived as Hampton scored just over a minute later off a free kick by Aysu Unver.
- Elon restored its two-goal advantage in the 65th minute with Feigin again facilitating. The senior played a ball into the box that Beck corralled before John could reach it, allowing Beck to roll a shot into an open net to make it 3-1 for the Phoenix.
- Hampton again responded quickly, this time scoring just 18 seconds after the Elon tally to make it 3-2.
- The Pirates had chances to tie the game, attempting four consecutive shots between the 75th and 79th minutes. Carpenter stopped the first shot with Phoenix defenders blocking the next two.
- Hampton was forced to substitute John out for Arianna Myers in the 85th minute. Elon's first shot against Myers found the back of the net to restore a two-goal advantage. Feigin played a free kick into the box that Myers punched away, but Tirado secured the rebound and found Murdock in front of the net, who deposited a Phoenix goal.
- Hampton attempted the final two shots of the contest with Carpenter making a final save in the closing seconds to seal an Elon victory.
Notable Numbers
- Feigin's four points were a career best. It was her second match this season with multiple assists after notching three Sept. 3 at VMI.
- The goal by Feigin was her first since scoring Aug. 13 in Elon's season opener against VCU. This was Feigin's first game in her Phoenix tenure with both a goal and an assist.
- With her two assists, Feigin took over the CAA lead in helpers with eight on the season. The senior is up to 12 points on the campaign, the third most among Phoenix scorers.
- Tirado turned in her first three-point effort with the Phoenix with a goal and assist. Her goal was her third in conference play and her eight points in CAA play are the most among all Phoenix scorers.
- Beck scored her fourth goal of the season, which was her third in conference matches. Beck and Tirado are tied for a team-best three goals in CAA play this season.
- This was the second straight season Beck has scored the game-winning goal against Hampton.
- Murdock's goal was her team-best seventh of the season but the first to come in a CAA contest. The forward has three points in Elon's last three matches.
- Jenna Abousaab's assist on Feigin's goal was her second of the season. It was the senior's third career assist in a conference match.
- The four goals were the most scored by the Phoenix in a conference match this season. Elon has now scored four or more goals four times this fall.
- Elon outshot Hampton, 19-15, and put 15-of-19 shots on goal. The Pirates edged the Phoenix in second-half attempts, 8-7.
- Murdock attempted a game-high seven shots, putting six on target. In total, eleven different Phoenix attempted at least one shot.
- Alexis Pierce, Grace Gelhaus and Jordan Green all logged the full 90 minutes in the field. Pierce has played all 720 minutes in conference play for the Phoenix this season.
- Elon started all nine of its seniors after honoring the class in a pre-match ceremony. Jenna and Maya Abousaab both started in the same match for just the second time in their careers. Maya's start was her first of the season and second of her career.
- Carpenter made four saves in her second straight start. Elon improved to 3-0-0 this season in matches Carpenter starts.
- Elon finishes its regular-season home slate with a 7-0-1 record, its second straight unbeaten regular season at Rudd Field. This is the first time in program history Elon has gone unbeaten at home in consecutive seasons.
- With the win, Elon will be the No. 2 seed from the South Division in the CAA Tournament. The Phoenix will host the No. 3 seed in a CAA Tournament quarterfinal at Rudd on Nov. 5.
Up Next
Elon wraps up its regular season Nov. 1 at College of Charleston. Kickoff is slated for 1 p.m.
Stay Posted
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