ELON – The Elon women's lacrosse team (1-0) returns to Rudd Field for its home opener Saturday as the Phoenix hosts Old Dominion (1-0) at noon.

Elon vs. Old Dominion Briefing
Game Details: Feb. 14, 2026 | Elon, N.C. | Rudd Field | 12 p.m.
Watch: FloCollege
Live Scoring: StatBroadcast
Elon Links: News | Roster | Schedule | Stats | Numbers To Know
Old Dominion Links: News | Roster | Schedule | Stats
 
The Matchup

• Elon has split its two previous matchups against Old Dominion.
• The Phoenix fell, 12-11, to the Monarchs at Rudd in the first meeting between the teams on Feb. 11, 2023.
• Elon avenged that loss a year later, beating Old Dominion, 16-6, on the road on Feb. 10, 2024. Anna Hackett and Kaitlyn Michaud both scored five goals to pace the Phoenix offense in the 10-goal win.

 
About The Phoenix

• Elon is coming off a 9-8 season in 2025 that included a second straight CAA Tournament berth.
• The Phoenix went 5-3 in CAA play to earn the No. 4 seed in the conference tournament before losing to eventual champion and top-seeded Stony Brook in the semifinals.
• Elon was tabbed to finish fourth in the CAA preseason poll behind just Stony Brook, Drexel and Towson.
• Elon returns four of its top six goal scorers from last season – Ana Lee Vandiver (39), Mia Zebley (15), Danielle Swietoniowski (15) and Lillian Austin (13).
• Austin and Swietoniowski both made the All-CAA Rookie Team a season ago. Austin finished third on the Phoenix with 15 points in conference play, while Swietoniowski finished close behind with 13 points.
• Reagan Kuehn is Elon's other returning All-CAA honoree from 2025, as the defender made the Second Team after leading the Phoenix with 23 caused turnovers and all Elon position players with 32 ground balls.
• The Phoenix also returns MJ Santa Barbara, its leader in draw controls last season. Her 9.91 draw controls per contest led the CAA.
• Other key returners include goalie Caitlin Walsh, who started all 17 games in net last season, making 108 saves, Jessie Penner and Eliza Ritter, who both caused double-digit turnovers, and Addie Gilner, who was one of eight Phoenix to net double-digit goals in 2025.
• Elon is led by head coach Josh Hexter, who is in his 13th season with the program. He has guided the Phoenix since its inaugural campaign in 2014 and enters 2026 with 88 wins leading the maroon and gold.

 
Last Time Out

• Elon defeated Queens in its season opener Wednesday, winning 12-10 in Charlotte.
• Freshman Lizzie Scalzo paced Elon's offense, scoring a team-high five goals in her college debut. Vandiver also notched a hat trick with three goals with Hackett adding four points, including a team-best two assists.
• The Phoenix trailed 3-0 after the first quarter but scored six goals in the second to take a lead it did not relinquish the remainder of the contest.
• Santa Barbara secured 11 of Elon's 14 draw controls and scored her third career goal. The junior is averaging 12.7 draw controls in three career games against the Royals.
• Kuehn led Elon's defense with team highs in both ground balls (3) and caused turnovers (2).
• Walsh made nine saves in goal for the Phoenix, her third straight outing with eight or more saves dating back to last season.

 
Scalzo's Sensational Debut

• Scalzo tied for a game-high five goals in her collegiate debut Wednesday against Queens. The freshman scored a first-half hat trick before scoring two more goals, including the game winner, after the break.
• Scalzo became the first Elon freshman to score five goals in her debut game since Stephanie Asher also scored five on Jan. 31, 2015, against Kennesaw State.
• The five goals by the rookie were also the most by any Phoenix freshman in a game since Vandiver had six against VCU on Feb. 17, 2024, as a redshirt freshman and the most by an Elon true freshman since Margaret Stephan netted five against Radford on March 7, 2021.
• Scalzo scored on five of her six shot attempts against the Royals, with all six shots being on target. She also scored the first free position goal of her career in the win.

 
Hack Is Back

• After missing the 2025 campaign due to injury, Hackett made her return to the field Wednesday night against Queens.
• In her first appearance since April 14, 2024, Hackett started in Elon's midfield and finished second on the Phoenix with four points.
• She scored her first goal in 669 days in the second quarter against the Royals before adding another in the fourth quarter. It was the 21st multi-goal effort of her career.
• Additionally, Hackett delivered a team-high two assists, both coming on Scalzo goals.
• Hackett attempted five shots against Queens and also added a ground ball. 

 
Preseason Accolades

• Kuehn and Vandiver were named to the Preseason All-CAA Team while Santa Barbara was picked as an honorable mention.
• Kuehn's 32 ground balls last season were the fourth most in a season in Elon history and the most by a defender. Her 23 caused turnovers were the sixth most in program history. She enters her junior season in the top 10 in both career ground balls (68) and caused turnovers (47) in program history.
• Vandiver is Elon's top returning scorer from last season, having set career highs in both points (51) and goals (39) in 2025. The 51 points were tied for the fourth most in a season in program history, while the 39 goals were tied for the fifth most by an Elon player in a season.
• Santa Barbara recorded a team-best 109 draw controls in just 11 games last season, the second most in the conference. Her 9.91 draw controls per game led the CAA and her 72 draw controls in conference games were the most in the league.  

 
MJ The History Maker

• Entering her junior season, Santa Barbara is already Elon's all-time leader in career draw controls and has re-written the Phoenix record books in several categories.
• With 271 career draw controls in her 29 career games, Santa Barbara is 76 clear of second place in program history. She has the top two single season draw control totals in program history with 151 in 2024 and 109 in 2025.
• She has also set the top two marks in program history for draw controls in a conference season, with 73 in CAA games in 2024 and 72 in 2025. The next highest total in a season is 35.
• With Santa Barbara on the draw, Elon has set new team records for draw controls in a season. The Phoenix secured a program-record 145 draw controls in 2024, Santa Barbara's freshman campaign, before accruing 127 in 2025, Santa Barbara's sophomore campaign. Those are the top two totals in program history, smashing the previous record of 79 set in 2022.
• Santa Barbara has also turned in the top-five single game draw control efforts in program history, highlighted by her program-best 16 last season against Queens.
• Santa Barbara's 9.29 career draw controls per game were the third most in NCAA history entering this season.
• Santa Barbara has secured double-digit draw controls in 14-of-29 career games.

 
Sophomore Scoring Duo

• Austin and Swietoniowski both look to build on stellar freshman campaigns this spring, as both were key contributors as rookies.
• Austin's 15 points in CAA play were tied for the third most by an Elon freshman in a single season, while Swietoniowski was close behind with 13 points in conference games.
• Austin and Swietoniowski both registered six assists in CAA play, tied for the third most in a conference season by freshmen in program history.
• Both Swietoniowski (22) and Austin (21) surpassed 20 points in their freshman seasons and were two of seven Phoenix to do so in 2025.
• Austin had a pair of game-winning goals in 2025, coming against Monmouth and William & Mary. She was one of three Phoenix players to have multiple on the campaign.

 
Brick Wall-sh

• Walsh has become a mainstay in net for the Phoenix, starting 47 career games in four seasons with the program, including each of the last 43 contests. 
• The senior was named to the All-CAA Tournament Team last season. She made a season-high 12 saves in the CAA semifinals against Stony Brook.
• Walsh earned her first CAA Defensive Player of the Week honor last season on April 21 for her 10 saves and seven ground balls in wins against Towson and Queens.
• Walsh has made 100-plus saves in each of her first three seasons with the Phoenix and ranks second in program history in career saves (347).
• Walsh is second in program history with 21 career victories.

 
Scouting Old Dominion

• The Monarchs enter Saturday with a 1-0 record having won their season opener against Youngstown State, 14-12, on Feb. 7.
• Natalie Calandra-Rya led the Monarchs with four goals against the Penguins. Eleni Yates, Annalynn Pompetti and Maria Snyder all netted two goals and one assist, while Lydia Laney dished out a team-best four assists in a five-point effort.
• Sofia Snyder caused a team-high three turnovers against Youngstown. Jules Mills led the Monarchs with six draw controls.
• Brynn Bowen, a preseason All-American Conference Team selection, started in goal for Old Dominion, stopping five Penguin shots.
• The Monarchs were picked last out of seven teams in the American Conference preseason poll.
• Old Dominion is coming off an 8-9 campaign in 2025. The Monarchs went 1-5 in conference play and just 4-7 away from home.
• The Monarchs are led by fourth-year head coach Theresa Walton.

 
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