TODAY: Phoenix men’s soccer to face Hofstra in CAA title bout

The Elon University men’s soccer team will try for its first Colonial Athletic Association title as it hosts Hofstra in the league’s championship match on Saturday, Nov. 12. Kickoff is slated for 12 p.m. at Rudd Field with free admission for fans.

How to Follow

• Saturday’s match will be streamed live on FloFC via a paid subscription with Katie Bennert and Max Wallace on the call.
• Links for the broadcast and live stats can be found on the Elon men’s soccer schedule page at elonphoenix.com.
• Other in-game updates will be provided on Twitter by following @ElonMSoccer.

The Matchup

• In a rematch of last year’s championship final, the Phoenix and the Pride are meeting on the soccer pitch for the 10th time on Saturday. Hofstra has had great success over the Phoenix in the series, boasting a 7-1-1 ledger in a series dating back to 2014.
• Elon earned its first-ever win over the Pride earlier this year with a 3-1 result on Oct. 15 at Hofstra. Goals scored by Vemund Hole Vik, Victor Stromsten and Scott Vatne contributed to the Phoenix’s win.
• Last year, Hofstra defeated Elon, 3-2, in the CAA final in Hempstead, N.Y. Saturday’s game marks the first time since 2004 and 2005 that the same teams will meet for the league final in consecutive years.

Last time out

• Elon advanced to its second straight league final after earning a 1-0 victory over Drexel in the semifinal round on Sunday, Nov. 6.
• Ben Rosenblatt scored the lone goal of the contest in the 20th minute. The junior headed in a ball on a service from Marco Vesterholm for his first goal of the season.
• Elon’s shutout win also gave netminder Ryan Bilichuk his 11th clean sheet of the season – setting a new single-season school record. The Greenville, S.C., native surpassed the previous record of 10 held by Clint Irwin ’11 and Matthew Jegier ’18. The graduate student recorded a pair of saves in the contest. He also moved to sixth all-time in career shutouts in school history.

Season recap

Rosenblatt earns National Teams of the Week honors for his play against the Dragons on Sunday, Rosenblatt was selected to a pair of National Teams of the Week. The Huntington Woods, Michigan, native was placed on the Top Drawer Soccer and College Soccer News Teams of the Week. Rosenblatt became the fourth individual from the Phoenix to receive National Team of the Week honors either from Top Drawer Soccer or College Soccer News joining teammates Hole Vik, Kasper Lehm and Mason Duval.

Elon was well represented on CAA postseason awards as the Phoenix was rewarded for its great CAA season so far during the league’s announcement of its postseason awards. Elon won two of the four major awards for the league, headlined by Hole Vik being named the CAA Defensive Player of the Year and head coach Marc Reeves being selected as the unanimous Coach of the Year.

Hole Vik became the second Phoenix player to be named the CAA Defensive Player of the Year, joining Nathan Diehl in 2015. Hole Vik was also one of seven Elon players that earned All-CAA honors as the Aalesund, Norway, native earned first-team honors. Elon had a league-best four players receive All-CAA first-team laurels. Along with Hole Vik, Duval, Franc Gamiz Quer and Vatne also received first-team honors. Bilichuk and Lehm were named to the All-CAA second team while first-year Majaliwa Msabaha was placed on the third team and All-Rookie team. Reeves became the first Elon coach to receive the CAA Coach of the Year honor. It was the third Coach of the Year accolade overall in Reeves’ career.

In the Rankings

For the third consecutive week, Elon was receiving votes in the United Soccer Coaches poll. It was also the sixth time this season that the Phoenix has received votes in the poll. Elon currently ranks second in the Atlantic Region and is 24th overall in the most recent RPI rankings. Bilichuk’s 11 clean sheets are tied for first overall in the country and is sixth in the nation on goals-against average (0.53). As a team, Elon is third overall in the NCAA in shutout percentage (.647) and GAA (0.53).

Opening Stanza

• At 11-3-3, Elon has posted its first double-digit winning season since posting 14 victories in 2015. The Phoenix’s regular season crown is its first outright title overall since 2012.
• Elon is making its sixth overall appearance at the CAA Tournament. It’s also the first time that the maroon and gold had reached the league’s postseason tournament in consecutive seasons since doing so from 2014-17.
• The Phoenix holds an overall 183-161 advantage in shots over the opposition. Elon also has an 80-47 advantage in shots on goal, hitting the target at a .437 percent clip.
• Duval leads the Phoenix in points (14) and goals (seven). Overall, Elon has recorded 26 goals from 14 unique scorers this season.
• Elon has tallied 28 assists this season, its highest total since having 35 in 2015. Lehm and Vatne are tied for the team-lead in assists with six with Lehm also being tied for third all-time in program history in career assists with 18.
• The Phoenix is coming off a 9-8-2 ledger during the 2021 fall season and advanced to the CAA Championship final for the first time in school history.
• Elon returns 21 players and seven starters in 2022 including All-CAA performers Kasper Lehm and Jannik Videbaek. The maroon and gold also welcomes back a pair of CAA All-Rookie team players in Calle Edelstam and Scott Vatne.
• Both Lehm and Videbaek were selected to the 2022 Preseason All-CAA team. The Phoenix as a team was tabbed third by the league’s head coaches in the 2022 CAA Preseason Poll.
• Three players will don the captain armband for the Phoenix this season. Videbaek joins returning captains Jeppe Jordoson and Marco Vesterholm as the team captains for the 2022 season.
• Elon welcomes eight newcomers to its roster for 2022 – Gustavo Atencio, Ryan Bilichuk, Michael Clow, Myson Darden, Carlos Levy, Majaliwa Msabaha, Sumner Nenninger and Franc Gamiz Quer.
• Reeves is in his sixth season as the head coach of the Phoenix. Through his 12 seasons overall as a head coach, Reeves has posted a career record of 117-81-36 with 42 of those victories coming at Elon.

Scouting Hofstra

• The defending CAA champion and the No. 3 seed, Hofstra earned its place for the championship final for the 10th time after earning a 2-1 overtime win at No. 2 seed UNCW on Sunday.
• The Pride have scored a league-best 40 goals and boasts two of the top goal scorers in the league. Eliot Goldthorp has a team-best 15 goals, which is second in the NCAA. Teammate and CAA Player of the Year Ryan Carmichael is second in the league with 10 goals. Both players are also top-two in the CAA in points with Goldthrop having 36 and Carmichael having 23.
• Defensively, Hofstra has conceded 18 goals on the year. Wessel Speel has started every game between the posts for the Pride and has a 0.95 GAA with 40 saves and five shutouts on the year.

Up next

The winner of the match between the Phoenix and the Pride will receive an automatic bid to the NCAA Championship Tournament. Selections will be announced on Monday, Nov. 14 at 1 p.m. on ncaa.com.