ELON – The Elon men's soccer team (6-2-2) picked up its third straight victory Tuesday night, beating USC Upstate (3-8-0) in a 3-1 decision at Rudd Field.
Weston Jonke gave the Phoenix a 1-0 halftime lead before the Spartans tied the match in the 58th minute. An
Oscar Tonidandel penalty kick goal shortly after restored Elon's lead and
Dominik Renz gave the Phoenix a two-goal advantage just over two minutes later.
The Spartans went down a man after committing a red card in the 67th minute. Elon outshot USC Upstate, 19-5, on the night, including a 10-2 disparity in the second half.
The victory moved Elon's home record this season to 3-0-2. The Phoenix has won all three of its home matches against nonconference opponents.
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How It Happened
- For the second straight match, Elon converted a free-kick goal in the opening five minutes. This time, it was Weston Jonke who scored the goal, bending the ball around USC Upstate's wall and into the bottom right corner of the net for the game's first tally on the first shot of the night.
- Elon applied steady pressure throughout the opening stages of the half, with Renz hitting the post on a shot in the eighth minute before a flurry of four more Phoenix attempts before the 20-minute mark.
- Ben Madore hit the cross bar in the 38th minute for the second Phoenix post hit in the half.
- Drew Hartman made three first-half saves, including on the final attempt by either team in the opening frame in the 42nd minute.
- The Spartans tied the game on a highlight-reel goal from Jayden Montgomery in the 58th minute.
- In the 67th minute, the Phoenix was given a penalty kick opportunity following a USC Upstate handball in the box. Before Elon took the penalty, USC Upstate's Luke Martin was assessed a red card, dropping the Spartans to 10 men for the remainder of the night.
- Tonidandel stepped to the penalty spot to take the kick for the Phoenix. A hesitation move by the midfielder baited the goalkeeper into diving left, allowing Tonidandel to bury the ball in the bottom right corner of the net to put Elon back in front.
- Just over two minutes later, Elon scored again to double its lead. Daire McCarthy made a run down the right sideline and centered the ball to a charging Renz, who beat the USC Upstate goalkeeper to make it 3-1 for the Phoenix.
- Hartman made his best stop of the night in the 79th minute to maintain Elon's two-goal advantage.
- The Phoenix took the final three shots of the contest on its way to securing the 3-1 victory.
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Notable Numbers
- Elon has now scored a goal directly off a free kick in the opening five minutes in each of its last two games. Joe Taylor netted a third-minute goal off a free kick in last week's victory at Duke.
- Jonke's goal was his second of the season, both of which have come at Rudd. The junior played 78 minutes in Elon's midfield.
- Tonidandel improved to 2-for-2 on the season on penalty kicks with his make. The midfielder also converted a penalty earlier this season on Sept. 12 at Campbell.
- Both of Tonidandel's goals this season have been game winners, as he becomes first Phoenix with multiple game-winning tallies on the campaign.
- Renz joined Jahmir Flowers for the team lead in goals (4) and took over the team lead in points (10) from Flowers with his goal against the Spartans. Three of the forward's four goals this season have come at Rudd.
- Renz has now scored in each of the last two seasons against the Spartans. He was the lone goal scorer in a 1-0 victory over USC Upstate a season ago.
- McCarthy's assist on Renz's goal was his first helper with the Phoenix. The midfielder has three points in Elon's last three matches, logging the full 90 minutes in all those contests.
- Joining McCarthy in going the full distance in the field for Elon was Magnus Jacobsen and Tønnes Daland. Jacobsen is yet to be subbed out of a match this season.
- The Phoenix outshot USC Upstate, 19-5, with eight of Elon's 19 shots being put on target.
- Hartman made four saves for his fourth victory of the season. The four stops matched his season best.
- In total, 20 different Phoenix saw minutes Tuesday. All 20 players logged 12-plus minutes on the night.
- Elon continued its undefeated home start with the win. The Phoenix is now unbeaten in its last 15 fixtures at Rudd, a streak that began with last season's home opener.
- The Phoenix has won its last four matches against nonconference opponents and improved to 5-1-0 this season in nonconference play.
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Up Next
Elon returns to CAA play Saturday with a road match against William & Mary. The Tribe and Phoenix currently occupy the Nos. 2 and 3 spots in the CAA South Division standings, respectively.
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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). Â
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