Elon University Athletics

ELON - With early offensive production in both halves, the Elon men's soccer team (3-2-1) picked up its second straight win Tuesday night, defeating Radford (2-4-0) in a 3-0 shutout at Rudd Field.
 
Elon's goals came from Jahmir Flowers, Alex Wharton and Weston Jonke. Flowers scored his goal in the opening 10 minutes of the first half, with Wharton's coming in the first five minutes of the second period. Dominik Renz assisted on both those Phoenix tallies.
 
The Phoenix attempted 14 shots on the night, putting 11 on target. Elon outshot the Highlanders 9-4 after the halftime break as the Phoenix pulled away from Radford in the final 45 minutes.
 
Mikolaj Lenarcik engineered a clean sheet in his second start of the season. He saved all three of Radford's shots on goal and capped off his night with a rare goalkeeper assist on Jonke's goal.
 
How It Happened

• Flowers scored on his first attempt in the eighth minute off an assist by Renz, whose initial shot ricocheted off the Radford goalkeeper and back into play.
• Radford had a quality chance to tie the game shortly after in the 13th minute but the shot by Oluwajomiloju Oyediran was saved by Lenarcik.
• Flowers had an opportunity to complete a first-half brace in the 27th minute, but his shot was saved by Radford goalie Ben Miller.
• Elon's defense preserved a first-half shutout as the Phoenix took a 1-0 lead in the locker room.
• In the 49th minute, a sequence that saw Oscar Tonidandel feed Renz turned into a breakaway for Wharton following a no-look pass from Renz. Wharton used his speed to beat a Radford defender down the right sideline before he deposited the ball into the goal to make it 2-0 for Elon.

 

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• Elon added a third goal in the 76th minute. After Lenarcik played a short pass to Magnus Jacobsen in Elon's half of the field, Jacobsen played a long ball that Jonke corralled and flipped up and over Miller to make it 3-0.
• The Phoenix held Radford without a shot over the final 25 minutes to preserve the shutout victory.  

 

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Notable Numbers

• Flowers has now doubled his goal total from last year with four goals through Elon's first six matches this season. He maintains the team lead in goals (4) and points (9).
• Flowers' goal marked Elon's first time scoring in the first half since Aug. 24 against Old Dominion.
• Wharton's goal was the first of his Elon career in his 22nd appearance as a Phoenix. He played 36 reserve minutes against the Highlanders.
• Jonke also tallied his first career goal in his 25th cap with Elon. The junior went the full 90 minutes in Elon's midfield.
• Renz finished the game with two assists. It was his first career game with multiple assists.
• Tonidandel notched the secondary assist on Wharton's goal. He has four points in Elon's last two matches.
• Lenarcik made three saves for his first career shutout. His assist was the first by an Elon goalkeeper since Matthew Jegier recorded a primary assist against Northeastern in 2015.
• Joining Jonke in playing the full match in the field for Elon was Jacobsen, Daire McCarthy, Kosei Sasaki and Tønnes Daland. Jacobsen's assist on Jonke's goal was the first of his career to go along with his two career goals.
• Flowers led Elon with a game-high four shot attempts. All four shots were on target.
• The Phoenix has scored three goals in four of six matches this season. This was Elon's third 3-0 victory of the campaign. 
• Elon has now won two straight matches for the first time this season.

 
Up Next
Elon returns to Rudd Field on Saturday for a CAA home match against College of Charleston. Kickoff against the Cougars is scheduled for noon.

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For further coverage of Elon men's soccer, follow the Phoenix on X (@ElonMSoccer), Instagram (elonmsoccer) and Facebook (Elon Men's Soccer).