ELON – The Elon women's lacrosse team (4-4, 1-1 CAA) defeated Monmouth (6-4, 0-2 CAA) on Friday Night at Rudd Field for its first CAA win of the season, winning 9-8 in a defensive battle.

The Phoenix limited the Hawks to just 14 shot attempts and caused a season-best 16 turnovers to hold a second straight conference opponent to single-digit goals. Nine different Phoenix created at least one turnover on the night.

Offensively, Lizzie Scalzo and Mackenzie Coleman each netted a hat trick to pace the Phoenix. Elon attempted a season-high 35 shots, outshooting Monmouth by 21. 

MJ Santa Barbara surpassed 300 career draw controls in the win. Elon's all-time leader in career draw controls had a season-high nine against the Hawks to lead the Phoenix.

How It Happened

• After the first four shot attempts of the game did not find the back of the net, Monmouth finally scored the game's opening goal on a free position attempt with 8:14 left in the first quarter.
• Elon answered with 5:25 left on a goal from Ana Lee Vandiver and then took its first lead of the night at the 3:52 mark with a Coleman goal set up by Scalzo. The Hawks tied the score at 2-2 with just over 40 seconds left in the period.
• The Hawks retook the lead in the opening minute of the second quarter. It took nearly seven minutes for the next goal, with Coleman netting her second of the game off another Scalzo feed. Scalzo then scored her first of the night with 3:50 remaining but Monmouth responded just 55 seconds later with a goal of its own. The tie did not last long, with Scalzo giving Elon a 5-4 halftime advantage on her second straight goal with 2:10 left in the half.
• Monmouth again scored the first goal of the quarter in the third to tie the game, but Coleman completed her hat trick to give Elon a 6-5 lead with 9:07 left in the period. Neither team converted again until Vandiver netted her second of the night with 3:28 remaining. The Hawks scored in the final minute of the frame to make it a 7-6 game headed to the fourth.
• The Hawks struck first in the final quarter to even the score. After Monmouth goalie Katie Sullivan stopped Vandiver on a free position shot at the halfway point of the quarter, Mimi Economus forced a crucial turnover on the ensuing clear attempt, eventually leading to a go-ahead goal from Lillian Austin on a pass by Maddie Engelkraut.
• Scalzo finished her hat trick with four minutes remaining to restore Elon's two-goal advantage. A Monmouth free position goal with 1:18 left in regulation cut its deficit to just one and the Hawks won the ensuing draw control to earn a chance at tying the game. With time running out, the Hawks tried finding a cutter in front of the net but Jessie Penner broke up the pass to give Elon back the ball and secure the win.

 
Notable Numbers

• Scalzo led the Phoenix with five points (3g, 2a) on the night, her second five-point outing of the season. It was her second career hat trick and the first since she scored five goals Elon's season opener at Queens on Feb. 11. It was her second career multi-assist performance as her two helpers matched her season high from Feb. 14 against Old Dominion.
• Coleman's hat trick was her first of the season and the second of her career, with the other coming on April 23, 2025, against Queens. The junior tied Vandiver for a game-high eight shot attempts.
• Vandiver added an assist to her two goals for a three-point night. It was Vandiver's first multi-goal game since March 5 against High Point. This was Elon's first win this season in a game that did not feature a Vandiver hat trick.
• Elon's fourth and final goal scorer was Austin, who extended her scoring streak to seven. The sophomore has scored in every game she has appeared in this season.
• Zebley tallied her fifth assist of the campaign, as the junior now has an assist in five of the last six games. Engelkraut's assist was her first of the season and first since Feb. 28, 2024.
• Elon's 35 shots were its most in a game this season. It was the most shot attempts by the Phoenix since taking 38 last season against Monmouth.
• Three different Phoenix forced three turnovers – Economus, Penner and Eliza Ritter.
• The three caused turnovers matched a career high for Economus, who last had three in a game on Feb. 22, 2025. This was the first time in the last five games Economus has forced a turnover.
• Penner became the seventh player in program history to reach 50 career caused turnovers with her three against the Hawks. The senior also passed Quinn Daly for seventh in Elon's caused turnover standings.
• Ritter's caused turnovers were her first since forcing two against East Carolina on Feb. 21. She has now caused multiple turnovers in three outings this season. 
• Nine total Phoenix caused at least one turnover, with Gwen Eilender forcing a pair. The 16 caused turnovers were the most in a game for Elon since also forcing 16 at Duke last season.
• Reagan Kuehn and Caitlin Walsh led the Phoenix with three ground balls apiece. Penner, Zebley and Arianna Kouchalakos all had two ground balls.
• The game featured 34 combined turnovers, with Monmouth turning the ball over 21 times. The Phoenix won the ground ball battle, 21-14.
• The 14 shots allowed were the fewest by Elon in a game this season. 
• Santa Barbara grabbed nine of Elon's 13 draw controls on the night as the Phoenix finished with a 13-6 advantage in the circle. The program's all-time leader in career draw controls surpassed 300 in her two-plus seasons with the Phoenix with the effort.
• The Phoenix went 0-for-4 on its free position attempts, going without a free position goal for just the second time this season.
• Elon improved to 1-1 in CAA play with the victory. The Phoenix now leads the head-to-head against Monmouth, 3-1.
• Neither team built a lead larger than two throughout the entirety of the contest. 

 
Up Next
Elon will host No. 15 Duke at Rudd Field on Monday. The game is scheduled for a 5 p.m. start.
 
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