Ava Kaydea

Women's Soccer 9/1/2026 3:00:00 PM Elon Athletics

Elon Set For Two-Match Road Swing

Phoenix Heads To VMI, American

Inside The Matchups

Elon is 2-0 all-time against the Keydets, winning both matches by 4-0 scores.
The teams met last season at Rudd Field in Elon's home opener. Grace Gelhaus scored a brace with two goals just 21 seconds apart while Abby Brinker and Lauren McCauley also converted goals.
This will be Elon's first trip to face the Keydets in Lexington since 2012.
The Phoenix has also won both its prior encounters with American, with the matches coming in 2021 and 2022, respectively.
Elon won its only trip to American in 2021, defeating the Eagles 1-0 behind a Sarah Bevington goal and McKenna Dalfonso clean sheet.
The Phoenix blanked American again the next year at Rudd, winning 3-0. Molly Mahoney, Kennedy Jones and Bethany Harford all converted goals within the first 22 minutes of the match with Dalfonso anchoring another clean sheet.
Murdock is the lone Elon player to play against American having started and played 78 minutes against the Eagles in the 2022 matchup.

Storylines To Follow

Record-Setting Offense: Elon's 16 goals through the first five matches are the most by the Phoenix in the first five games in a season since 1993. The Phoenix has scored multiple goals in four of its five contests, including six goals in a road win against South Carolina State on Aug. 20.
Balanced Attack: Elon has tallied 16 goals from 13 different goal scorers this season. Ava Hellner, Isa Murdock and Gabby Tirado are the only three Phoenix with multiple goals. Additionally, of the 22 field players to log minutes for Elon this season, 16 have notched at least one point.
First-Time Goal Scorers: Five different Elon players have scored their first career goal this season – Hannah Carlson, Isabel DiPrima, Jessica Hill, Nicole Kleyner and Emerson Rogers. Tirado's goals this season are also her first with the Phoenix after transferring to Elon from Marist.
Rookies Of The Week: Elon swept the first two CAA Rookie of the Week awards this season. Kleyner won the award on Aug. 17 after scoring in Elon's season opening win against VCU before Carlson made it back-to-back for the Phoenix by earning the honor on Aug. 24 following a three-point effort at South Carolina State. All three of Elon's freshman scored in their college debuts this season, with Rogers also netting her first career goal in the South Carolina State win.
GG: Reigning CAA Defender of the Year Grace Gelhaus had three assists in Elon's two matches last week. The senior has five points (1 goal, 3 assists) on the campaign, trailing only Murdock and Tirado for the team lead.
Person Of Interest: Naomi Person has started all five matches in goal this season for the Phoenix, the first starts of her college career. She made a career-high six saves last week against Davidson.
All-CAA Honorees: The Phoenix was picked to finish first in the CAA South Division preseason poll. Additionally, Gelhaus, Hellner, Murdock and Katie Bisgrove were all named to the preseason all-conference team.

Last Time Out

Elon made a winning return to Rudd Field on Sunday, defeating High Point 2-1 in its first home game since Aug. 13.
Tirado scored her second goal in as many games to get the Phoenix on the board before McCauley notched the game-winning tally in the second half.
Six different Phoenix found the scoresheet as Dwyer, Gelhaus, Murdock and Jess Beck added assists in the win. Beck has now contributed to the game-winning goal each of the last two years against the Panthers after scoring the lone goal in a 1-0 road win against High Point in 2025.
High Point edged the Phoenix in shot attempts, 10-9. Murdock and Tirado each attempted a team-high two shots.
Hill and Alexis Pierce both went the full distance on Elon's back line.
Jenna Abousaab made her first start of the season and first since starting against Hampton on Oct. 23, 2025. The senior put a shot on goal in her 38 minutes of action.
The Phoenix improved to 2-0 at Rudd this season with the win. It was Elon's first home match since it season-opening victory against VCU on Aug. 13.

Defending Champions

Elon won its second CAA title last fall and its first since the spring 2021 season.
The Phoenix finished third in the South Division and clinched a CAA Tournament berth with a tie against College of Charleston on the last day of the regular season. Elon rode a six-match unbeaten streak into the postseason.
Elon started its tournament with a 1-0 road win over William & Mary behind an Ashlee Brehio goal. In the semifinals, the Phoenix eliminated UNCW, the South's top seed, on the road via a penalty shootout following a scoreless draw to advance to the championship match.
In the CAA final, Elon upended Stony Brook on the road in penalty kicks after a 1-1 decision on Long Island. Bisgrove made 10 saves in the contest to finish Elon's championship run with 28 stops.
The Phoenix led the CAA last season in goal differential, goals against average, save percentage and shutout percentage. Elon allowed just 16 goals in 21 matches, conceding just 11 times in conference play.
Elon also had a top-three scoring offense in the conference, netting 1.78 goals per match in CAA play.

Scouting VMI

VMI enters Thursday's contest with a 0-4-1 record this season.
The Keydets are coming off their first tie of the season Sunday against Gardner-Webb. A goal in the 62nd minute by Jordan Davis helped VMI secure a 1-1 result.
VMI's losses this season have come against George Mason, Virginia Tech, Winthrop and Longwood. The Longwood and Winthrop losses were both one-goal affairs.
Jaleesa Eichel is VMI's other goal scorer this season, with the tally coming in VMI's season opener against George Mason.
Mackenzie Hobik and Maren Ryberg have both notched an assist this season for the Keydets.
Ryberg has started all five of VMI's matches in goal this season. She has made 34 saves, including a season-best 10 stops against the Hokies.
VMI is led by second-year head coach Jim Robbins.

Scouting American

American is 0-3-1 this season and will face UNCG on Thursday before taking on the Phoenix.
The Eagles have a tie against Richmond to offset losses against La Salle, UMBC and Longwood.
Mia De Villegas-Decker, Bella Miller and Lauren Sanders have all scored a goal for American this season. Miller also has an assist to lead the Eagles with three points.
In goal, Riley Molbury has started all four matches for the Eagles, making 22 saves on the season.
American is guided by first-year head coach Phil Casella.

Stay Posted
For further coverage of Elon women's soccer, follow the Phoenix on X (@ElonWSoccer), Instagram (elonwsoccer) and Facebook (Elon Women's Soccer).

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Players Mentioned

#15 Abby Brinker: D; 5' 9"; Freshman

#13 Jenna Abousaab: MF; 5' 4"; Senior

#21 Jess Beck: F/MF; 5' 7"; Junior

#20 Isabel DiPrima: MF; 5' 5"; Senior

#6 Grace Gelhaus: D; 5' 7"; Senior

#12 Ava Hellner: MF; 5' 6"; Redshirt Senior

#14 Jessica Hill: D; 5' 6"; Junior

#17 Lauren McCauley: F; 5' 6"; Senior

#7 Isa Murdock: F; 5' 8"; Redshirt Senior

#28 Naomi Person: GK; 5' 10"; Redshirt Sophomore

Players Mentioned

#15 Abby Brinker
: 5' 9"; Freshman
: D

#13 Jenna Abousaab
: 5' 4"; Senior
: MF

#21 Jess Beck
: 5' 7"; Junior
: F/MF

#20 Isabel DiPrima
: 5' 5"; Senior
: MF

#6 Grace Gelhaus
: 5' 7"; Senior
: D

#12 Ava Hellner
: 5' 6"; Redshirt Senior
: MF

#14 Jessica Hill
: 5' 6"; Junior
: D

#17 Lauren McCauley
: 5' 6"; Senior
: F

#7 Isa Murdock
: 5' 8"; Redshirt Senior
: F

#28 Naomi Person
: 5' 10"; Redshirt Sophomore
: GK