Elon Men's Soccer Set for CAA Opener at College of Charleston
ELON, N.C. – After rebounding from its first loss of the season with two straight shutout victories, the Elon University men's soccer team gears up for its Colonial Athletic Association opener at College of Charleston on Saturday, Sept. 10. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. at the Patriots Point Athletics Complex in Mt. Pleasant, S.C.
Follow @ElonMensSoccer
Fans can follow the Phoenix this Saturday with updates on Twitter from the program's handle @ElonMensSoccer. Other score updates will also be provided at the handle @elonscores as well as live stats from the men's soccer home page. The match will be streamed online through College of Charleston's athletic website, cofcsports.com.
Versus College of Charleston
Longtime opponents when the two were members of the Southern Conference, Elon and CofC are meeting for the 18th time overall and the third time as CAA foes. The Cougars hold a 11-6 advantage over the Phoenix, but Elon has taken the last two matches with both coming in double overtime. Last season, the Phoenix earned a 1-0 victory at home on a Nathan Diehl header golden goal to clinch Elon a share of the CAA regular season title.
Elon/High Point Classic Recap
The Phoenix rebounded from its first loss of the season versus San Diego to go 2-0 this past weekend at its home tournament, the Elon/High Point Classic. Junior Elijah Agu netted Elon's first hat trick since 2005 as the Phoenix opened the tournament on Friday, Sept. 2, with a 6-0 rout against St. Bonaventure. It was Elon's largest margin of victory ever at the Division I level. On Sunday, Sept. 4, the Phoenix clinched the tournament title with a 1-0 win over Detroit Mercy as Jaiden Fortune scored the lone goal in the contest.
At the conclusion of the tournament, Agu was named the tournament MVP and was selected on the all-tournament team along with Amir Berkane, Luke Matthews and Nick Adamczyk.
Agu Tabbed CAA Player of the Week
Speaking of Agu, the Cary, N.C., native was named the CAA Player of the Week for the first time in his career on Monday, Sept. 5. Agu tallied seven total points in the Phoenix's two matches last week with his three goals and an assist.
Elon Receiving Votes in NSCAA Poll
For the second time this season, Elon was receiving votes in the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) National Top 25 poll. The Phoenix earned 23 points in the poll, the third most among teams receiving votes. Regionally, Elon sits fourth in the Midwest Region behind Indiana, Maryland and Delaware. The Blue Hens were also the lone other CAA school in the NSCAA poll sitting at No. 22 in the nation.
About Elon
Thanks to its offensive outburst against St. Bonaventure last Friday, Elon has accounted for 12 goals this season in its four games and is second in the CAA goals per contest at 3.5 scores per match. The Phoenix has also taken 83 shots this season for an average of 20.8 shots per contest and has dominated the opposition in both corners (25-7) and assists (11-3).
Seven total players have tallied at least one goal this season with Agu leading the way a team-best five. Freshman Austin Hill is the only other Phoenix player with multiple goals with two and is second on squad with four points behind Agu's 11. Eight different players have at least one assist with Marcel Fahrenholz being the team-leader with three on the season. Agu leads the league in points, goals scored and game-winners with him being second in the nation in the latter category.
Defensively, Elon is holding opponents to only 6.3 shots a game while conceding only three goals this season. Only nine attempts have been on target for Phoenix opponents who are averaging a .120 shot percentage. With his first solo shutout on Sunday, keeper Matthew Jegier has 10 in his career.
About College of Charleston
The Cougars are 2-1 this season after earning a 2-0 win at Furman on Saturday. CofC had opened the 2016 season with a 2-0 victory over Navy on Aug. 26, before suffering a 3-1 setback versus Florida International on Aug. 28. Head coach Ralph Lundy is in his 30th year as the year coach at CofC and his 41st overall as a head coach.
Through their three games, the Cougars have five total goals and are averaging 11.67 shots per game. CofC has had 16 of those on target for an average of 5.33 per match. Each of the Cougars' five goals have come from five different players with Avery Ryan being the team leader in total points (one goal, two assists) and shots (nine).
In goal, Kevin Shields has played every minute between the posts and has allowed three goals for a GAA of 1.01. He has also made nine saves with a save percentage of .750.
Elon continues its four-game road trip with a nonconference bout at NC State on Sept. 13. That contest is slated for a 7 p.m. start.
Published September 9, 2016 By Press Release
Categorized as College Tagged Mens Soccer
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