ELON – Coming off consecutive CAA Tournament appearances, the Elon women's lacrosse team opens its 2026 campaign Wednesday night with a road game at Queens (0-1). The contest in Charlotte is scheduled to start at 4 p.m.

Elon at Queens Briefing
Game Details: Feb. 11, 2026 | Charlotte, N.C. | Queens Sports Complex | 4 p.m.
Admission: Buy Tickets 
Live Stats: StatBroadcast
Elon Links: News | Roster | Schedule | Stats | Numbers To Know
Queens Links: News | Roster | Schedule | Stats
 
The Matchup

• Elon is 2-1 against Queens, with all three previous matchups coming in the last three seasons.
• The Phoenix lost its lone game against the Royals in Charlotte, falling to Queens on Feb. 14, 2024, in a 15-10 decision.
• Last season, Elon blitzed Queens in an 18-9 victory at Rudd Field on April 23. Sammy Fisher, Mackenzie Coleman and Lila Ceribelli all netted hat tricks in the victory with 10 different Phoenix connecting on at least one goal. The Phoenix opened the game on an 11-0 scoring run and the 18 goals were a season-high output.
• MJ Santa Barbara broke her own Elon single-game draw control record last season against the Royals, picking up 16 in the circle.
• Elon has held Queens to single-digit goals in each of its two victories in the series.

 
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.

 
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 260 career draw controls in her 28 career games, Santa Barbara is 65 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 are the third most in NCAA history entering this season.

 
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 46 career games in first three seasons with the program, including 42 in a row entering 2025.
• 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).
• Entering 2025, Walsh is second in program history with 20 career victories. She is also second in career goalie minutes (2,635) and fourth in career save percentage (.376).

 
Captains, Our Captains

• Elon named its four captains for the 2026 season on Feb. 3 – Mimi Economus, Anna Hackett, Ana Lee Vandiver and Caitlin Walsh.
• Economus is a senior defender from Columbus, Ohio, entering her fourth season with the program. She made a career-high 10 appearances in 2025, starting twice. She has appeared in 19 games in her Elon career.
• Hackett missed the 2025 season due to injury but will return to the field for her redshirt junior campaign. The attacker has made 30 career appearances, scoring 64 goals and 71 points. She made the All-CAA Rookie Team as a freshman and scored 32 goals in each of her first two campaigns.

 
Scouting Queens

• Queens fell at ECU in its season opener Sunday, 15-4.
• Isabella Swanson scored two goals to lead Queens against the Pirates. Anna Bednarz and Erin Brock also found the net.
• Mackenzie Saneman picked up a team-best three ground balls in the game for the Royals. Swanson paced Queens with three draw controls.
• Kayleen Favreau was tabbed as the Preseason Atlantic Sun Offensive Player of the Year prior to the start of the season. Defender Savannah Donahue also earned a spot on the Preseason All-ASUN Team.
• Favreau led Queens with 72 points a season ago, scoring 60 goals and adding 12 assists. ECU limited Favreau to no points and just one shot attempt Sunday.
• Queens was picked to finish sixth out of nine teams in the A-Sun preseason poll.
• The Royals are coming off a 6-11 campaign in 2025. They went 4-5 on their home turf.
• Queens is led by head coach Kelly McQuilkin, who is in her fourth season leading the program.

 
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