ELON – The Elon men's soccer team (1-2-1, 0-1-1 CAA) wraps up a stretch of three straight CAA matches Saturday night with a trip to Campbell (0-5-0, 0-1-0 CAA) before returning home to face Radford (2-2-0) on Tuesday at Rudd Field.
Elon at Campbell Briefing
Match Details: Sept. 12 | Buies Creek, N.C. | Eakes Athletics Complex | 6 p.m.
Admission: Free
Elon vs. Radford Briefing
Match Details: Sept. 15 | Elon, N.C. | Rudd Field | 7 p.m.
Admission: Free
Inside The Matchups
- Saturday will be the 28th all-time meeting between the Phoenix and Fighting Camels.
- Elon holds a 14-11-2 edge in the series. The Phoenix is 4-1-1 in the last six encounters between the teams.
- The Phoenix and Camels split three matches last season (1-1-1) with the Elon victory coming in the semifinals of the CAA Tournament.
- Elon won that CAA Tournament semifinal 6-4 behind four second-half goals. Martin Kozak had six points in the match, including a program-record four assists.
- The Camels defeated the Phoenix last season in Buies Creek during the regular season.
- Tuesday will be the 24th encounter between the Phoenix and Highlanders.
- Radford holds an 11-9-3 advantage in the head-to-head, but the Phoenix has won its last three matches against the Highlanders.
- The teams met last season at Radford, with Elon blanking the Highlanders, 2-0.
- Elon head coach Marc Reeves previously served as Radford's head coach from 2010-16. Reeves went 3-2-2 against the Phoenix in his seven seasons leading the Highlanders.
Pups At The Pitch
- Tuesday's match against Radford will be Elon's Pups at the Pitch Night at Rudd Field. Fans are encouraged to bring their dogs to Rudd.
Elon Storylines
- CAA Praise: Elon was tabbed to finish first in the CAA South Division preseason poll. The Phoenix also had four preseason All-CAA honorees – Kozak, Magnus Jacobsen, Weston Jonke and Dominik Renz. Additionally, Ben Madore was named a preseason All-CAA honorable mention.
- Give Him His Flowers: Jahmir Flowers became the first Phoenix to score multiple goals this season with one goal each against VMI and Old Dominion. The senior leads the Phoenix with five points (2 goals, 1 assist) and has already matched his point total from last season.
- Goalie Rotation: Elon has rotated its goalies in the first four matches of the season. Drew Hartman has started three matches, including each of the last two against William & Mary and UNCW, with Mikolaj Lenarcik starting against Old Dominion.
- Newcomers Scoring: Three players have recorded their first Elon points in the opening four matches of the season. Tønnes Daland paced the Phoenix with three points against Old Dominion, with Mohamed Kallon and Henry Mertsch each tallying an assist in their Elon debuts.
- Captain Martin: Kozak is second on the Phoenix with four points, trailing only Flowers for the team lead. The reigning CAA Tournament Most Outstanding Player has a goal and a pair of assists on the campaign, highlighted by a three-point effort in Elon's season-opening victory against VMI. Kozak was named to the Hermann Trophy Watch List in August.
Last Time Out
- Elon fell 1-0 to UNCW on Saturday in Wilmington. The Seahawks scored a first-half goal and blanked the Phoenix over the course of 90 minutes for their fourth straight clean sheet to start the season.
- Elon and UNCW both attempted nine shots and five shots on goal. Seven of Elon's nine shots came in the second half.
- Flowers and Joe Taylor led the Phoenix with a pair of shot attempts each. Seven Elon players attempted at least one shot in the match.
- Hartman made four saves in his third start of the campaign. He has now started in goal for both of Elon's CAA contests.
- Jacobsen and Jonke both went the full distance for Elon. Jacobsen has now logged all 360 minutes on the Phoenix back line this season.
Reigning Champs
- Elon earned its first CAA Tournament crown last fall, winning the title on its home field.
- The Phoenix finished atop the CAA South Division in the regular season to receive a bye into the semifinal round of the conference tournament.
- In its semifinal match against Campbell, the Phoenix exploded for six goals in a 6-4 victory, the most goals for Elon in a match since 2018. Six different Phoenix converted a goal in the match.
- Elon netted three more goals in the championship match against Stony Brook at Rudd, blanking the Seawolves 3-0 to secure the title and an automatic berth in the NCAA Tournament.
- Kozak paced the Phoenix with eight points in the CAA Tournament, netting two goals and adding four assists to earn Most Outstanding Player honors.
- The Phoenix made its sixth appearance in the NCAA Tournament, going out to UNCG in penalty kicks after the teams played to a scoreless draw in Greensboro.
Scouting Campbell
- Campbell enters Saturday's contest with a 0-5 record. Four of the five losses have come by a single goal.
- The Camels are coming off three straight 2-1 defeats, the first of which was their CAA opener against College of Charleston. Campbell fell to Wofford 2-1 in their last time out on Sept. 5.
- Saturday will be the third match in a five-match homestand for the Camels.
- Augustus Squillace leads the Camels with four points this season. His two assists are the most on the team.
- Campbell's five goals this season have all come from different scorers. Xander Martin scored the lone goal for the Camels in their conference opener against Charleston.
- David Skorodumov has started all five matches in goals for Campbell. He has made 19 saves with a .633 save percentage.
- Campbell is led by first-year head coach Ricky Davey.
Scouting Radford
- Radford is currently 2-2 on the season and will play Howard on Saturday before facing the Phoenix on Tuesday night.
- The Highlanders defeated Bob Jones, 3-0, in their most recent outing on Sept. 5.
- Radford played CAA foe William & Mary earlier this season, falling 4-1 to the Tribe.
- Noel Zimbeva currently leads the Highlanders with three points on the campaign.
- Ben Miller and Zack Murphy have split starts in Radford's net this season. Miller has played the majority of the minutes and has a 0.520 save percentage.
- Andy Cormack is in his first season as Radford's head coach.
Stay Posted
For further coverage of Elon men's soccer, follow the Phoenix on X (@ElonMSoccer), Instagram (elonmsoccer) and Facebook (Elon Men's Soccer).
