ELON – The Elon women's lacrosse team (3-2) will face its first ranked opponent of the season Tuesday as it welcomes No. 11 Notre Dame (5-2) to Rudd Field. The contest will begin at 1 p.m.
 
Elon vs. No. 11 Notre Dame Briefing
Game Details: March 10, 2026 | Elon, N.C. | Rudd Field | 1 p.m. 
Watch: FloCollege
Live Scoring: StatBroadcast 
Elon Links: News | Roster | Schedule | Stats | Numbers To Know 
Notre Dame Links: News | Roster | Schedule | Stats 
 
The Matchup

• Notre Dame has won all three of the meetings in the head-to-head against Elon, two of which came at Rudd.
• The Fighting Irish outlasted Elon in a defensive stalemate at Rudd last season, 8-4. Elon won the draw control battle, 12-4, and was only outshot by one.
• The Phoenix has been within four goals of Notre Dame in each of their last two meetings.

 
About The Phoenix

• Elon was tabbed to finish fourth in the CAA preseason poll behind just Stony Brook, Drexel and Towson.
• Elon is 3-2 this season after snapping a two-game losing streak Thursday against High Point.
• Four Phoenix have reached double-digit points on the season – Anna Hackett (16), Ana Lee Vandiver (16), Lizzie Scalzo (11) and Danielle Swietoniowski (11).
• MJ Santa Barbara is leading the CAA with 5.60 draw controls per game.
• Reagan Kuehn is pacing the Phoenix defense and ranks top 10 in the CAA in both ground balls per game (2.60) and caused turnovers per game (1.60).
• Caitlin Walsh has anchored Elon's net this season, starting all five games. She has made 30 saves and is coming off her best outing of the campaign against High Point, as she held the Panthers to just seven goals on 14 shots on target.
• 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 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 91 wins leading the maroon and gold.

 
Last Time Out

• A dominant first-half effort propelled the Phoenix to a 15-7 victory Thursday night against High Point at Rudd.
• The Phoenix controlled the opening 30 minutes, racing out to a 10-2 lead. Elon stretched its lead to as many as many as 11 in the second half on its way to an eight-goal victory.
• Vandiver netted a natural hat trick in the first quarter to help the Phoenix go ahead 5-1 at the end of the frame. Hackett also delivered her third straight hat trick, with Mackenzie Coleman and Lizzie Scalzo each scoring a pair.
• Scalzo also had an assist for a three-point night. Lillian Austin (1g, 2a) and Swietoniowski (1g, 2a) also had three points.
• Elon's 15 goals were its most in a game this season. The Phoenix has now reached double-digit goals in four of five contests.
• Arianna Silvestri and Ava Matikowski each notched their first career point, with both assisting on a goal.
• Maddie Engelkraut scooped a career-best three ground balls to finish tied with Swietoniowski for the most on the Phoenix.
• Eight Elon players forced a turnover, with Reagan Kuehn causing a team-high two.
• Santa Barbara controlled the draw circle for the Phoenix, grabbing seven draw controls, her most since racking up 11 in the season opener at Queens.
• Walsh made seven saves in net, stopping half of High Point's shots on target.
• Elon's nine assists were its most in a game since compiling nine against William & Mary on April 13, 2025.
• Through two games at Rudd this season, the Phoenix has allowed just 13 goals. 

 
ACC Opportunities

• Tuesday will be Elon's second of four games against ACC opponents this season.
• Elon challenged Virginia Tech in Blacksburg on Feb. 27, taking a 7-3 lead early in the second quarter before the Hokies stormed back to win, 17-13.
• Elon will also face Duke later this month before welcoming Stanford to Rudd in April.
• 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 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 four straight games against Old Dominion, East Carolina, Virginia Tech and High Point. She has led the Phoenix in goals in three of those four contests.
• The streak of hat tricks is Hackett's longest since she had five in a row in her freshman season.
• Hackett's 16 points and 14 goals through five games lead the Phoenix. Hackett is the only Elon player to score multiple goals in all five games this season.
• The redshirt junior is up to 87 career points and surpassed Nicole Sinacori for sixth in program history with her three points against Virginia Tech.
• Hackett's 14 goals this season have also moved her up to sixth in program history in career goals (78). She is just five behind Mae McGlynn for the fifth most.
• With 2.80 goals per game, Hackett currently ranks third among CAA scorers.

 
MJ The History Maker

• Entering her junior season, Santa Barbara was already Elon's all-time leader in career draw controls and has re-written the Phoenix record books in several categories.
• With 288 career draw controls in her 33 career games, Santa Barbara is 93 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-33 career games.
• The junior leads the CAA with 5.60 draw controls per game this season. Nobody else in the conference is averaging more than five per contest.
• In addition to her prowess in the draw circle, Santa Barbara has become a steady scoring threat in 2026. The junior scored a goal in each of Elon's first four games this season, the longest goal-scoring streak of her career.

 
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 is third on the Phoenix with eight goals through Elon's first five games in 2026 and is one of two Elon players, along with Hackett, to score a goal in every game. The sophomore netted a hat trick in the win against Old Dominion.
• Three of Swietoniowski's goals have come on free position shots, which is tied for Hackett for the most on the Phoenix.
• Austin has six goals in the last four games and is coming off a three-point showing against High Point. She has scored multiple points in three consecutive games.

 
Unstoppable Ana Lee

• Vandiver is coming off her best goal-scoring game of the season, as she netted five against High Point on Thursday.
• Three of her five goals came in the first quarter, as she scored a natural hat trick to help the Phoenix take control of the game.
• Vandiver's five goals against the Panthers were one short of a career high and also tied Scalzo for the most by a Phoenix in a game this season.
• The five goals moved Vandiver into a tie with Hackett for a team-high 16 points. Her five assists this season are two more than the next best Phoenix.
• After scoring hat tricks in each of Elon's first two games, Vandiver had gone without a goal in the two games before High Point.
• Against High Point, Vandiver scored on five of her six shots on target, with the sixth shot hitting the post on a no-look behind-the-back attempt.

Chaos Coordinators

• Elon's defensive corps of Kuehn, Eliza Ritter, Mimi Economus and Jessie Penner have wreaked havoc on opposing offenses this season.
• Kuehn leads the Phoenix with eight caused turnovers, with Ritter (6) in second on the team. Four of Ritter's forced turnovers came in the victory against Old Dominion, while Kuehn has forced two turnovers in four of Elon's five games this season.
• Kuehn is pacing the Phoenix with 13 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 fourth in program history in the stat (55).  
• Kuehn has also moved up Elon's all-time ranks in ground balls, as she is now sixth in program history with 81 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.
• Penner has caused four turnovers to go along with four ground balls this season. The senior is up to 44 career caused turnovers.

 
Brick Wall-sh

• Walsh has become a mainstay in net for the Phoenix, starting 51 career games in four seasons with the program, including each of the last 47 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 23 career victories.
• Through Elon's first four games this season, Walsh has 30 saves, including a nine-stop effort in the season opening win at Queens.
• The senior goalie had her best outing of the season against High Point, stopping 7-of-14 shots on target.

 
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 is third on the Phoenix in points (11) and has two multi-point efforts since debuting against Queens, including a three-point game in Elon's most recent outing versus High Point.

 
 
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.
• 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 Notre Dame

• Notre Dame is 5-2 this season and checked in at No. 11 in Monday's coaches poll. The Irish were as high as No. 5 in the rankings in February.
• Four of Notre Dame's five wins this season have come against ranked opponents, highlighted by a 12-9 victory at No. 3 Boston College on Feb. 13.
• Notre Dame lost on Sunday at No. 11 Clemson, 12-9. It was the second loss in the last three games for the Irish after starting the season 4-0.
• Kate Timsky (26) and Madison Rassas (22) are leading the Fighting Irish in points this season.
• Timsky's 20 goals are also the most on the team. Three other Irish have scored 10-plus goals – Rassas (17), Grace Maroney (11) and Maura Irish (10).
• Notre Dame has a plus-30 goal differential this season and is averaging 12.43 goals per contest, the fifth most in the ACC.
• Irish leads Notre Dame with 12 caused turnovers this season and also has double-digit draw controls (14) and ground balls (12).
• Uma Kowalski is Notre Dame's leader in the draw circle with 49 draw controls on the season. Meghan O'Hare is second on the team with 22 draw controls and leads the Irish with 14 ground balls.
• Ceci Patterson is Notre Dame's top goalie and has a .457 save percentage this season. She has made 48 saves on the campaign.
• Christine Halfpenny is in her 15th season as Notre Dame's head coach.

 
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