ELON – The Elon women's lacrosse team (2-1) faces its first of four Atlantic Coast Conferences opponents Friday when it travels to play Virginia Tech (3-2). The game is scheduled for a 1 p.m. start at Thompson Field in Blacksburg, Virginia.
Elon vs. Virginia Tech Briefing
Game Details: Feb. 27, 2026 | Blacksburg, Va. | Thompson Field | 1 p.m.
The Matchup
- Virginia Tech leads the all-time series, 9-1, with Elon's lone win coming in a 13-12 overtime victory in Blacksburg in 2017.
- In last season's matchup at Rudd Field, the Hokies pulled away for a 16-4 win.
- This will be the sixth year in a row the Phoenix and Hokies will play.
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 is up to 90 wins leading the maroon and gold.
Last Time Out
- Elon took its first loss of the season against East Carolina, falling 12-9 in Greenville on Feb. 21.
- The Pirates took control of the game with a 6-0 second-half run that gave them a six-goal lead. Elon tried mounting a comeback, cutting the lead in half, but could not get closer than three goals.
- Hackett netted her second straight hat trick to lead the Phoenix in goals. Austin had two goals and an assist while Santa Barbara scored in her third straight game to extend the longest scoring streak of her career.
- The Pirates narrowly edged out Elon in draw controls (12-10). The teams finished with the same number of shots on goal (16) and ground balls (19).
ACC Opportunities
- Friday will be Elon's first of four games against ACC opponents this season.
- The other three ACC opponents will all travel to face Elon at Rudd Field, beginning with Notre Dame on March 10. Duke will then come to Rudd on March 23 before Stanford visits on April 12.
- This is Elon's first time facing four ACC teams in a single season since 2019, when the Phoenix took on Duke, North Carolina, Virginia and Virginia Tech.
- Elon has three victories over current ACC teams, with one win each against Duke, Virginia and Virginia Tech in the 2016 and 2017 seasons.
Hack Is Back
- After missing the 2025 campaign due to injury, Hackett made her return to the field on Feb. 11 against Queens.
- In her first appearance since April 14, 2024, Hackett started in Elon's midfield and finished with two goals and four points against the Royals.
- Hackett has notched hat tricks in consecutive games against Old Dominion and East Carolina. She led the Phoenix in goals in the game against the Pirates.
- Hackett's 10 points and eight goals through three games lead the Phoenix. Hackett is the only Elon player to score multiple goals in all three games.
- The redshirt junior is up to 81 career points and is just two away from tying Nicole Sinacori for the seventh most points in program history.
- Hackett's eight goals this season have also moved her up to sixth in program history in career goals.
Scalzo's Sensational Debut
- Freshman Lizzie Scalzo tied for a game-high five goals in her collegiate debut on Feb. 11 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.
- The attacker notched two more points against Old Dominion on Feb. 14 with a pair of assists before scoring another goal at East Carolina on Feb. 21.
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 278 career draw controls in her 31 career games, Santa Barbara is 83 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-31 career games.
Sophomore Scoring Duo
- Austin and Swietoniowski are both building on strong rookie campaigns in their sophomore seasons this spring.
- Austin's 15 points in CAA play last season 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.
- Swietoniowski has five goals through Elon's first three games in 2026 and is one of three Elon players, along with Hackett and Santa Barbara, to score a goal in all three games this season. The sophomore netted a hat trick in the win against Old Dominion.
- Austin has three goals in the last two games and is coming off a three-point effort against East Carolina, the seventh multi-point outing of her career.
Chaos Coordinators
- Elon's defensive corps of Eliza Ritter, Reagan Kuehn, Mimi Economus and Jessie Penner have wreaked havoc on opposing offenses this season.
- Ritter leads the Phoenix with six caused turnovers, four of which came in the victory against Old Dominion. Kuehn has forced four turnovers of her own, while Economus and Penner have each forced two.
- Kuehn is pacing the Phoenix with 10 ground balls, with Ritter and Economus close behind with seven each.
- Kuehn surpassed 50 career caused turnovers in the East Carolina victory and is now tied with Kailee Follette and Shannon Horan for the fourth most in program history (51).
- Kuehn has also moved up Elon's all-time ranks in ground balls, as she is now sixth in program history with 78 in two-plus seasons.
- With her seven ground balls this season, Economus has already surpassed her career high. The senior's four ground balls against East Carolina were a career best.
Brick Wall-sh
- Walsh has become a mainstay in net for the Phoenix, starting 49 career games in four seasons with the program, including each of the last 45 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 (348).
- Walsh is second in program history with 22 career victories.
- Through Elon's first three games this season, Walsh has 15 saves, including a nine-stop effort in the season opening win at Queens.
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.
- 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.
- Through three games this season, Vandiver is second on the Phoenix in both points (9) and goals (6).
- 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.
Scouting Virginia Tech
- Virginia Tech is 3-2 overall and 1-1 in the ACC entering Friday's matchup.
- The Hokies have wins this season over Mercer, Louisville and VCU. Their losses have come against James Madison and Pittsburgh, both ranked teams.
- In their most recent outing, a 10-8 loss to Pittsburgh, the Hokies had had eight different goal scorers. The Panthers scored the first four goals of the contest and never trailed.
- Lauren Render is leading the Hokies this season with 15 points and 12 goals. Sophia Trahan is second on the team with 14 points and leads Virginia Tech with nine assists.
- Mia Pozzi leads the Hokies with 22 draw controls. Zoee Stencil leads all Virginia Tech field players in both ground balls (10) and caused turnovers (10).
- The Hokies received votes in this week's top 25 poll.
- Virginia Tech finished 9-9 overall in 2025, which included a 3-6 record in Atlantic Coast Conference.
- Kristen Skiera is entering her seventh season leading the Hokies.
Stay Posted
For further coverage of Elon Lacrosse, follow the Phoenix on X and Instagram (@ElonWLAX).
--ELON--
