ELON – The Elon women's soccer team (7-1-3, 2-0-1 CAA) continued its unbeaten start in conference play Sunday, coming from behind to earn a 1-1 tie against Hofstra (2-5-4, 1-0-2 CAA) at Rudd Field.
After going into halftime down by one,
Gabby Tirado scored in the 50th minute on assists from
Lauren McCauley and
Isabel DiPrima to even the score. The teams played a scoreless final 40 minutes to finish all square.
Elon has picked up seven out of a possible nine points through its first three CAA matches. The contest closed out a season-long four-match homestand for the Phoenix.
How It Happened
- Hofstra scored first in the fifth minute with a goal from Sasha McTiffin.
- Charlise Grimes took Elon's first shot of the match in the 13th minute.
- Elon's best scoring opportunity of the first half came in the 23rd minute. After Nicole Kleyner took the ball away from a Hofstra defender in the Pride's 18-yard box, the freshman centered it to an open Jess Beck. However, Hofstra's goalkeeper Lilly Bailey denied Beck from point-blank range to keep the Phoenix off the scoreboard.
- The Phoenix took two more shots before halftime, with Talia Feigin and Isa Murdock both missing the net.
- Elon found its first goal of the match in the 50th minute. DiPrima played a ball out to McCauley on the right wing, who crossed it into the box on her second touch. The ball found the head of Tirado, who slipped in behind a Pride defender and buried a header into the back of the net to tie the score at 1-1.
- Tirado almost had a brace in the 57th minute as a shot from the junior midfielder rang off the crossbar.
- After entering the match for the second half, Anica Carpenter made her first save of the day in the 59th minute, denying Hailey Moschitta.
- Carpenter made another key save in the 82nd minute, diving across the goal line to turn away a shot from just inside the 18-yard box from Ciara Whyte.
- Feigin took the final shot of the match in the 86th minute but it went wide left of the goal. The match finished in a 1-1 draw.
Notable Numbers
- Tirado's goal was her third of the season as she joined Murdock, Kleyner and Jordan Green with three-plus goals on the campaign. The goal was Tirado's first in CAA play.
- McCauley logged the primary assist on Elon's goal, her first helper of the campaign. The point was her first since she scored a goal against High Point on Aug. 30.
- For the second straight match, DiPrima tallied an assist for the Phoenix. She now has three assists on the campaign to go along with a goal. The senior midfielder has played 50-plus minutes in all three of Elon's conference fixtures, her first time playing 50 or more minutes in three straight matches during her Phoenix tenure.
- Hofstra finished with a slight 13-12 advantage in shot attempts. Tirado's three shots in her 49 reserve minutes led the Phoenix.
- Alexis Pierce and Ava Hellner played all 90 minutes for Elon. This was Hellner's first time going the full distance for the Phoenix this season.
- Gia Milano made her first start of the campaign, playing 27 first-half minutes.
- For the first time this season, Megan Dwyer came off the bench for Elon. The junior saw 31 minutes in the second half.
- Naomi Person played the first half in goal for Elon with Carpenter relieving her for the second half. Carpenter made a pair of saves while tending the net.
- In total, 20 different Phoenix saw action Sunday. Everyone that played logged 19 or more minutes.
- This was Elon's second tie this season after its opponent scored the opening goal. The Phoenix also came from down a goal to tie against Davidson on Aug. 27.
- The Phoenix has recovered from allowing the first goal in each of its last two matches. Elon came from one down to beat Stony Brook, 2-1, on Thursday.
- Elon remained unbeaten at Rudd Field on the season, improving to 5-0-1 at home. The Phoenix finished its season-long four-match homestand with a 3-0-1 mark.
- The Phoenix and Pride have now tied in each of their last two matchups. Elon improved to 2-0-1 in its last three home meetings against Hofstra with the result.
- Elon has now earned points in the first three matches of its CAA season for the second time in the last three years. The Phoenix currently sits atop the CAA South Division standings with seven points.
Up Next
The Phoenix heads to Wilmington on Oct. 3 for a crucial division matchup against UNCW. The contest between the top two teams in the CAA South will begin at 6 p.m.
Stay Posted
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