RICHMOND, Va. – The Elon women's lacrosse team (5-6) picked up a 13-8 road victory Tuesday against VCU (8-4) at Cary Street Field.

Redshirt junior Ana Lee Vandiver became the seventh Phoenix to reach 100 career points with a six-point outing against the Rams. Vandiver netted a hat trick to tie freshman Lizzie Scalzo for the team lead in goals while dishing out a team-best three assists.

Anna Hackett also tallied a pair of goals with Maddie Engelkraut (1g, 1a), Addie Gilner (1g, 1a) and Gwen Eilender (0g, 2a) also posting multiple points.

The victory was Elon's first road win since its season opener on Feb. 11 at Queens, snapping a four-game skid in away tilts.

How It Happened

• The Rams raced out to a 3-0 lead in the first quarter, but Elon responded with a trio of goals to tie the score at the end of the period. Scalzo broke the ice for Elon with 4:33 to go and Arianna Kouchalakos pulled the Phoenix within one on a free position goal. With 2:02 remaining, Mia Zebley tied the game at 3-3.
• VCU scored the first goal of the second quarter before Elon launched a season-best 5-0 run to take control of the contest. Hackett tied the game at 4-4 on an assist from Vandiver, who then gave Elon its first lead of the day just 30 seconds later on a helper from Scalzo. The next two goals came from Scalzo, who completed a first-half hat trick to give Elon a 7-4 halftime advantage.
• Vandiver capped the Phoenix scoring run with the opening goal of the third quarter on a dish from Engelkraut. Following VCU's first goal in nearly 20 minutes of game time, Engelkraut netted a goal of her own to restore Elon's four-goal lead. The Rams notched the final goal of the third to send the game to the final quarter with Elon ahead, 9-6.
• Another scoring run by the Phoenix early in the fourth gave Elon the cushion it needed to close out the win. Vandiver and Hackett netted the first two goals of the frame to make it 11-6. After drawing a free position shot with just under eight minutes remaining, Vandiver passed the ball to Gilner who scored to give Vandiver career point No. 100.
• Mackenzie Coleman scored the final Elon goal of the contest on an assist from Vandiver. The Rams scored the final two goals to cut Elon's winning margin to five.

Notable Numbers

• Vandiver is the seventh Phoenix scorer to reach 100 career points, joining Stephanie Asher (211), Sloane Kessler (178), Sammy Fisher (158), Cierra Hopson (133), Mae McGlynn (112) and Gillian Curran (101). Vandiver is now tied with Curran for sixth in program history with 101 career points. 
• Vandiver's six points matched her season high, as she also had six (5g, 1a) on March 5 against High Point. It was her fifth hat trick and her second time posting multiple assists this season.
• The three assists from Vandiver matched her tally from last season's game against the Rams. Vandiver now has 17 points in three career games against VCU, as she scored a career-high six goals in a seven-point effort against the Rams in 2024.
• Scalzo's hat trick was the third of her freshman campaign. She also added an assist for her third effort of the season with four-plus points.
• Engelkraut became the seventh Phoenix to hit double-digit points on the campaign with two against the Rams. It was her third consecutive game with two points.
• Hackett continued her climb up Elon's all-time scoring ranks with her two goals. The redshirt junior now sits at 98 career points and 88 career goals as she seeks 100 in both categories.
• Gilner turned in her first multi-point outing of the season with a goal and an assist. It was her first time posting multiple points since she had three against Campbell on March 25, 2025.
• Eilender notched two assists and has five helpers in Elon's last three games. She has multiple assists in two games this season after doing so just once in her first two years with the Phoenix.
• Coleman extended her goal-scoring streak to seven, matching the longest of her career from her freshman season. The junior now has the longest active goal-scoring streak on the Phoenix.
• Elon outshot the Rams, 27-20, and put a season-high 23 shots on target.
• The Phoenix doubled up VCU in the draw circle, winning 16 of the game's 24 draws, a season high for Elon. MJ Santa Barbara led the Phoenix with a game-high 10 draw controls, her most in a game since grabbing 11 in the season opener Feb. 11 at Queens. It was the 15th game of the junior's career with double-digit draw controls.
• Reagan Kuehn led the Phoenix with three caused turnovers and a pair of ground balls. Jessie Penner and Mia Zebley both forced a pair of turnovers, with Ritter matching Kuehn with three ground balls.
• Elon caused 13 turnovers, its second most in a game this season. Nine different Phoenix forced at least one VCU turnover. 
• Elon finished with a slight 20-18 edge in ground balls.
• Caitlin Walsh made six saves in goal as Elon held its fifth opponent this season to single-digit goals.
• Elon's 5-0 scoring stretch across the second and third quarters was its longest run of the campaign.
• The Phoenix had its second highest assist output of the campaign (8), falling just one short of its nine assists against High Point on March 5.

 
Up Next
Elon will host William & Mary at Rudd Field on Saturday for Senior Day. The conference clash is scheduled for a noon start with the senior recognition to begin at approximately 11:45 a.m.
 
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