ELON – A goal with just under five minutes remaining by freshman
Nicole Kleyner proved to be the game winner for the Elon women's soccer team (7-1-2, 2-0-0 CAA) on Thursday night as the Phoenix came from behind to defeat Stony Brook (4-1-4, 1-1-0 CAA) in a 2-1 decision at Rudd Field.
Kleyner's goal was the lone tally by either team in the second half and gave the Phoenix its first lead of the contest. This was Elon's first win after trailing since the 2024 season.
The Seawolves struck first in the 39th minute before
Jordan Green tied the match just over a minute later.
Isabel DiPrima,
Megan Dwyer and
Talia Feigin all tallied assists on the night for Elon. In goal,
Naomi Person made five saves for the Phoenix, including three in the second half.
Elon became the first team to defeat the Seawolves this season. The contest was the first meeting between the teams since last season's CAA championship match, which saw the Phoenix win a penalty shootout to secure the conference title.
How It Happened
- Elon applied substantial pressure in the opening 15 minutes, with Isa Murdock taking the first four shots of the night for the Phoenix in that stretch. She put Elon's first shot on target in the 14th minute that was stopped by Jona Hennings in Stony Brook's goal.
- Person was called into action for the first time in the 19th minute. Stony Brook's Eva Sprewell sent in a free kick from well outside the 18-yard box that forced Person to leap into the air and deflect the ball just out of play over the crossbar.
- Stony Brook capitalized on an Elon turnover in the 39th minute to score the first goal of the match.
- Elon struck back quickly after the Stony Brook goal. The Phoenix earned a free kick from the left sideline which Jessica Hill sent into the box, finding Dwyer who headed the ball toward the net. Hennings made an initial stop, but the rebound popped back into play and found the foot of Green, who deposited the ball into the net for the tying goal just 78 seconds after Stony Brook's marker.
- The Phoenix put two more shots on target before halftime, but DiPrima and Jess Beck were both turned away by Hennings. The match remained 1-1 entering the locker room.
- Stony Brook started the second half with five straight shot attempts, with Person stopping each of the last two.
- In the 68th minute, Jenna Abousaab had a scoring chance during a transition sequence for Elon, but her shot was denied by Hennings.
- Person made another save in the 82nd minute to keep the match tied.
- Elon created a corner kick opportunity as the clock dipped under five minutes. Feigin played the ball from the right corner into the box, finding the head of DiPrima who flicked it onto Kleyner's foot. The freshman midfielder put a shot toward the net on her first touch, beating Hennings to the right to give Elon its first lead of the contest.
- The Phoenix held Stony Brook without a shot over the game's final five minutes to secure the 2-1 victory.
Notable Numbers
- Kleyner's goal was the third of her freshman season, her first in a CAA match and her first career game-winning goal. The midfielder is now tied for second on the Phoenix this season in goals.
- The game-winning goal was Elon's latest since Murdock scored with 4:16 remaining last season in a 1-0 win against Gardner-Webb.
- Kleyner became the first Elon freshman to be credited with a game-winning goal since Green scored the first goal in a 9-0 win against Hampton in 2023.
- Green's goal was also her third of the season to achieve a new career high. She has now scored in two of the last three matches and is tied for second on the team with eight points. The senior logged 86 minutes against the Seawolves.
- Feigin's secondary assist on Kleyner's game-winning goal was her sixth helper of the campaign, the most in the CAA at the end of Thursday night's slate. The senior has an assist in both of Elon's conference wins this season.
- DiPrima's assist was her second of the season and first since Aug. 27 at Davidson. It was her first point since notching three against the Wildcats.
- Dwyer tallied her third point in conference play with her assist on Green's first-half goal. The junior scored a goal in Elon's CAA opener against Campbell.
- Elon has now scored multiple goals in eight of 10 matches this season. The Phoenix has scored twice in each of its first two CAA matches.
- Murdock paced Elon with a game-high six shot attempts. Kleyner was the only other Phoenix with multiple shots (2) on the night.
- Elon edged the Seawolves in shots, 14-13. The Phoenix attempted 10 of its shots in the first half.
- Dwyer, Hill, Murdock and Alexis Pierce all went the full 90 minutes for the Phoenix. It was Murdock's first time playing a full match since Aug. 27.
- Person stopped five shots for her third match this season with five-plus saves. Stony Brook's first-half goal snapped Elon's shutout streak, which began Aug. 30 against High Point, at 425:43 of game action.
- Elon continued its unbeaten streak at home, extending it to 13 straight matches with the victory. The Phoenix is 5-0-0 at Rudd this season.
- With the victory, the Phoenix sits alone atop the CAA South Division standings with six points. Elon is unbeaten in its last 11 matches against conference opponents, including last season's CAA Tournament.
- This was the fifth meeting between Elon and Stony Brook since the start of the 2024 season. The Phoenix improved to 2-2-1 in those five matches with Thursday's victory, with both wins coming at Rudd Field.
- The win was Elon's first in comeback fashion since the Phoenix authored a 2-1 victory at UNCW on Oct. 27, 2024.
Up Next
Elon closes out its season-long four-match homestand Sunday against Hofstra. Kickoff at Rudd Field is scheduled for 1 p.m.
Stay Posted
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