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(09/15/14 2:50am)
Before junior forward James Brace knocked in a loose ball in the 67th minute to give the Elon University men’s soccer team a 1-0 victory over West Virginia University Sept. 14 at Rudd Field, the Phoenix had gone back-to-back games without finding the back of the net.
(09/11/14 4:52am)
In what has become a familiar refrain during the early going for the Elon University men’s soccer team, the Phoenix was unable to take advantage of its stingy defense and tied Florida International University 0-0 on Wednesday, Sept. 10 at Rudd Field in the home opener under first-year head coach Chris Little.
(09/10/14 4:10am)
Junior forward Miguel Salazar spent the majority of his first two years on the Elon University men’s soccer team as little more than a secondary offensive option behind the team’s headline-grabbing stars.
But that didn’t bother Salazar.
He knew his value was as a steady presence in the defensive midfield, where he would roam the field and disrupt the opponent’s possession to help Elon’s back four quell attacks on their final third.
“My priority has always been defense first and attacking second,” Salazar said. “My main job is to defend in the midfield, not to go forward. I don’t want to attack and be caught too high and not be able to recover in time to defend.”
He used his first two years to absorb as much as he could from the leaders in front of him, knowing that their experience was invaluable for a player still adjusting to the college game.
“Every day they came into practice and worked hard,” Salazar said. “Even if it wasn’t their best day, they always had the right mentality and the right attitude, and it showed the rest of us how they expected us to play.”
This year, Salazar has played second fiddle to no one. He scored two of the team’s four goals through its first three regular season games.
In 2012, his freshman year, he learned under the tutelage of then-senior forward Chris Thomas, the 2012 Southern Conference Player of the Year, who scored a nation-best 23 goals and was named a Hermann Trophy semifinalist, and then-senior midfielder Gabe Latigue, who supplied five goals and six assists that year. Together, Thomas and Latigue led the Phoenix to its second straight Southern Conference title and second consecutive berth into the NCAA tournament.
All the while, Salazar, still adjusting to the college game, fit nicely as a complementary piece in the midfield for his more recognizable teammates up front. He tallied 19 starts and was rewarded with a spot on the Southern Conference All-Freshman team.
In 2013, with a year under his belt, the Guanajuato, Mexico native started 20 games and tallied three assists. He was overshadowed by then-senior midfielder Daniel Lovitz — now a member of Major League Soccer’s Toronto FC — and then-junior forward Jason Waterman. Together, Lovitz and Waterman carried the team to a third straight conference title and first ever NCAA tournament win, while Salazar again contributed in the defensive midfield.
Salazar said his increased offensive production is because of his greater understanding of his role in the offense.
“I had to learn my role on the team,” Salazar said. “[As a freshman], I had to learn to go forward at the right times. I had to learn when to go [forward] and when to stay back [in midfield].”
Head coach Chris Little, who coached Salazar as a freshman in 2012 when he was an assistant under former coach Darren Powell, said he is not surprised at all that Salazar’s offensive potential is beginning to show. It is his commitment to his craft, Little said, that has allowed him to break out.
“He’s always had a lot of offensive talent,” Little said. “One of the things he worked on was getting forward and attacking, and he’s done a great job developing that part of his game. His two goals have been a testament to that hard work.”
His emergence has been vital, as most of Elon’s other weapons, other than juniors James Brace and Nathan Diehl, who scored the other two goals, have yet to find the back of the net.
While it’ll be tough for him to continue the pace he started the season with, Little said he hopes Salazar can remain a solid option in support of Waterman and Brace, should the two forwards need help.
“We’ve been looking for where we can get goals from. We can’t be reliant on our forwards,” Little said. “We’ve challenged our guys to produce, and Miguel has taken that challenge to heart and stepped up and given us what we needed.”
(09/07/14 8:35pm)
WILMINGTON — After 92 minutes of hard-fought, end-to-end action, the Elon University men’s soccer team lost a 1-0 decision to the Ohio State University in the team’s second and final game at the UNC Wilmington Courtyard Wilmington / Wrightsville Beach Classic on Sept. 7.
(09/06/14 6:34am)
WILMINGTON — The Elon University men’s soccer team again used stingy defense and a lone first-half goal to beat Winthrop University 1-0 on Sept. 5 at the UNC Wilmington Courtyard Wilmington / Wrightsville Beach Classic.
(09/01/14 4:10am)
Seniors Nathan Dean and Jason Waterman have had their share of memorable experiences in their four years on the Elon University men’s soccer team.
They’ve not only had success on the pitch with three straight Southern Conference titles and NCAA tournament appearances under their belts, but they have also had the good fortune of playing under the tutelage of some of the program’s greatest leaders and mentors, such as Gabe Latigue and Daniel Lovitz.
To replace that leadership, the Phoenix has chosen to employ a more collective approach to leading the team forward.
“We don’t want there to be only one or two leaders and everyone else follows,” Waterman said. “We think everyone should have the opportunity to lead and step up and have a high accountability for themselves. We want everyone to feel comfortable enough to talk about their job and how they can work to improve that job.”
But, as seniors, Dean and Waterman will be looked to take the reins and teach the younger, less experienced players how to effectively adjust to the college game.
“It’s important that upperclassmen step up and demonstrate to the younger guys, especially the freshmen, what the ‘Elon standard’ is about,” Waterman said. “Teaching them to win every single drill and to do everything they can to improve their own game to help the team.”
In the eyes of Chris Little, Elon’s head coach, there could not be two better ambassadors for both his program and the school itself, especially as the program ushers in a new era in the Colonial Athletic Association with heightened expectations after last year’s historic NCAA tournament victory.
But it’s not just their athletic ability that sets Dean and Waterman apart. Little is quick to point out that each has an impressive academic record and raves about their infectious personalities. Both qualities, he said, make them natural role models for the younger players.
“Nathan and Jason are not only leaders on the field with their performances, but off it as well,” Little said. “They’re focused on their academic success and how to best represent this university. They are fantastic leaders by example, and hopefully they are able to pass down the standards, values and expectations we expect of them to the younger players.”
Dean has no doubt the team’s newcomers will have few problems adjusting to their new surroundings, a result of the coaching staff making it a mission to only recruit players they feel can handle the pressure of fulfilling lofty expectations when they step onto campus.
“When the coaching staff recruits people, they do their homework and make it a priority to bring in not only good players, but also the right kind of people who will fit into the environment that we’re creating here,” Dean said. “The guys who come in are already the kind of people that are going to fit into our system.”
In Dean’s eyes, the upperclassmen’s job is to assist the freshmen in adjusting to the college game. Dean tries to help those from foreign nations, in particular, as he experienced three years ago as a freshman from England.
“It’s certainly a step up and can certainly take people a little bit of time to make that adjustment,” Dean said. “But we expect that. The main goal for us as a senior class is to help them get to the point where they can add value to our team as quickly as possible.”
That adjustment, does not appear to be too steep for this year’s incoming class.
“We’re seeing already the freshman class bring some special stuff in to training,” Dean said. “We hope that they can continue to provide good play because once we get toward the end of the season and we get tired legs, it’s a good boost for our team if we have those guys adding value.”
With a new class of hungry, self-motivated underclassmen and strong veteran leadership in place, the Phoenix has all the ingredients in place for a fourth straight trip to the NCAA Tournament.
(08/31/14 9:13pm)
DURHAM — Using stingy defense, the Elon University men’s soccer team held off Loyola Marymount University 1-0 Sunday, Aug. 31, in its final game at the John Rennie/Nike Classic. It was the first career win for first-year head coach Chris Little, whose first regular season game at the helm was a 3-2 loss to Stetson University Friday.
(08/31/14 5:33pm)
The Elon University men’s soccer team’s approach to nonconference scheduling is not unique among small programs in non-power conferences.
The team knows that in order to garner national attention and catch the eyes of the national polls — and even the NCAA tournament selection committee — it needs to stack its nonconference slate and boost its tournament resume.
Elon’s players embrace the challenge. They consider matches against difficult opponents from power conferences an opportunity to prove themselves on the big stage.
“You don’t want to put all your eggs in the conference basket,” said senior goalkeeper Nathan Dean. “It’s good to play those difficult nonleague games on the road to boost your RPI so that we have a chance to get into the national tournament.”
The difficult slate started right away, as the Phoenix beat the University of South Carolina 1-0 in an exhibition on Aug. 19, and lost to North Carolina State University, a perennial contender from the Atlantic Coast Conference, 1-0 in another exhibition Aug. 23.
The beginning of the regular season doesn’t get any easier, as Elon will travel to Durham for the John Rennie/Nike Classic hosted by Duke University. There, Elon will first play Stetson University Aug. 29, followed by Loyola Marymount University on Aug. 31.
Next, the Phoenix heads south to Wilmington for the UNC Wilmington Classic, where it faces Winthrop University on Sept. 5 and Ohio State University on Sept. 7. Both will offer stern tests right off the bat.
“We were looking at a situation where it was a no-brainer,” said head coach Chris Little. “All the teams have been in the national tournament consistently in the last few years. Both [tournaments] are relatively local, with great environments and against some of the best teams in the country.”
Elon’s difficult nonconference slate doesn’t stop there. On Sept. 14, the Phoenix will host West Virginia University, which was upset 3-2 at Rudd Field two years ago by the Phoenix while ranked No. 18 in the nation.
Twelve days later, the Phoenix travels to Conway, South Carolina, to try and make it two victories in a row against Coastal Carolina University after beating the sixth-ranked Chanticleers 2-1 last year at Rudd Field to break a four-game losing streak against its regional rival.
The Chanticleers, ranked No. 17 in the NSCAA/Continental Tire Division 1 Men’s National Pre-Season rankings, were Elon’s rival in both of its NCAA tournament appearances in 2011 and 2012. What’s more, the two teams played regular season matches in both seasons, which resulted in Chanticleers wins, as did the two tournament games.
“They’re a great test for us,” Little said. “Obviously, we’ve played each other numerous times over the last several years, and they’ve always had a ton of talent. It’s a game that we’re all looking forward to.”
Two more manageable games against Florida International University and in-state foe High Point University, neither of which broke .500 last year, are the only breathers mixed in to what is otherwise a daunting slate. But that’s exactly the type of challenge Little wants for his team.
“We’ve always been in the top 30 in the country the last several years,” Little said. “We want to continue that. A lot of that ranking is determined by your RPI, which is based on your strength of schedule. To meet those standards, we have to play a tough schedule, and that’s always been our philosophy.”
At this point, Dean and his teammates have come to embrace their coach’s philosophy.
“Difficult games boost our RPI, but it also prepares us for the big games we’ll have in conference play,” Dean said. “That’s been a big help to us in the past few years.”
(08/30/14 3:12am)
DURHAM — It was a less than auspicious start for the Elon University men’s soccer team and its new head coach Chris Little, as the Phoenix lost its season opener 1-0 to Stetson University on Aug. 29 at the John Rennie/Nike Classic hosted by Duke University.
(08/29/14 3:04am)
It was an unprecedented season no one on last year’s Elon University men’s soccer team will forget.
The Phoenix went 13-4-1 in the regular season, including a 2-1 victory against sixth-ranked Coastal Carolina University and a comeback win over local rival University of North Carolina at Greensboro.
Elon then swept through the Southern Conference tournament, beating Wofford College 1-0 in the championship game on then-junior forward Jason Waterman’s goal in overtime. The win gave the Phoenix its third straight conference title and third straight NCAA Tournament berth.
The season took an even more remarkable turn after the first-round NCAA Tournament game against Clemson University.
In front of more than 3,000 maroon-and gold-clad fans packed along the fence and bleachers, the teams tied at 1-1 in regulation and two hard-fought overtime periods, which sent the game into penalty kicks.
In that shootout, two Clemson players missed their penalty kicks, and Waterman had the chance to do what no other Phoenix player had ever done before — kick his team to its first NCAA tournament victory.
He coolly stepped up to the penalty spot and slotted the ball past the Tigers’ goalkeeper and into the lower left side of the goal, playing the role of hero for the second time in as many weeks. He ran to the other end of the field, ripping off his jersey and twirling it like a pinwheel as hundreds of fans spilled onto the field to celebrate with him and his teammates.
Although the Phoenix would lose 4-0 to the tournament’s No. 1 overall seed, the University of California at Los Angeles three days later, no one who had witnessed Waterman’s winning kick and ensuing celebration would soon forget the enormity of the moment.
Now, first-year head coach Chris Little, an assistant under former head coach Darren Powell from 2010-2012, is left with the unenviable task of leading the program forward after what many consider the greatest season in program history.
“Every year is a new team,” Little said. “Every team starts a new journey for itself. This team has to shape their own journey and build upon the success we’ve had over the last several years, and that’s an exciting challenge.”
The task won’t be as difficult as it may appear because the Phoenix is a mature team that knows it can’t ride on its previous successes.
“I don’t think it’ll be that difficult to move on,” Waterman, now a senior, said. “We’ll take the success we had last year and think ‘How did we get there?’ and look at the keys that made us successful, because the journey we took to get there is more important than the end result.”
Elon doesn’t want to completely turn the page on last season’s magic, but rather build and carry over the confidence and momentum they gained at the end of the season in order to maintain its success.
“We look at this season individually and don’t want to dwell too much on the past,” said senior goalkeeper Nathan Dean. “But we can definitely look to last season to give us confidence and use the momentum we provided ourselves moving forward.”
Little said he isn’t worried about his team starting slow this season because of a hangover from last year’s postseason magic. He trusts his team is experienced enough to turn the page on last fall and refocus for the upcoming season.
Little doesn’t sense there will be an issue moving forward because of the team’s strong leadership and hunger for continued success on the national stage.
“It’s about building upon last year,” Little said. “The players’ aspirations and our aspirations as a coaching staff are the same. We want to be in contention for the national tournament and competing for conference success.”
Despite winning three SoCon titles, making three NCAA tournament appearances and winning the program’s first tournament game, there’s still one lofty goal they have yet to accomplish.
“The senior class wants to leave as the winningest class in program history,” Waterman said. “We look at last year and say ‘We won some things and did really well,’ but we want this year to be even more special.”
To do so, the seniors must lead Elon out from under the shadow of last season’s brilliance and work toward making the roars heard reverberating around Rudd Field last fall a regular occurrence for years to come.
(08/20/14 4:32am)
COLUMBIA, S.C. — Behind stingy defense and a penalty kick forward James Brace, the Elon University men’s soccer team beat the University of South Carolina 1-0 in an exhibition Aug. 19 at Eugene Stone III Stadium.
(07/22/14 5:49am)
The New York Yankees’ first 94 games can be summed up by one phrase: treading water.
(05/21/14 3:07pm)
Chris Little was the academy director for the NC Fusion and head coach of the Carolina Dynamo soccer team of the Professional Development league when he received a call from former soccer coach Darren Powell in April.
Powell, a close friend of Little and whom he worked under as an assistant coach at Elon University from 2010-2012, had just resigned from Elon to take a position with the Orlando City Soccer Club of Major League Soccer and was helping Athletic Director Dave Blank find his replacement.
Naturally, Powell thought first of his close friend and former colleague, who, after a short exchange of pleasantries, he asked to return to Elon to become the head coach.
The decision, Little said, was a no-brainer. He was going to return to his old stomping grounds, where he had so much success under Powell’s guidance.
“Darren and I are close friends, and he told me on the phone about his new opportunity,” Little said. “Then he finished the conversation by asking if I would have any interest in coming back to Elon, and there was no hesitation. The answer was yes.”
Little wasn’t handed the job right then and there. After his conversation with Powell, he contacted the university to gauge its interest in him and to make known his desire for the job.
After going through the formal interview process with Blank, Little was named head coach April 29.
The announcement was welcome news to the players. Jason Waterman, a senior next season, said it was a perfect fit because of the team’s familiarity and comfort with the former coach, who recruited most of the players to Elon.
“We were all thrilled,” Waterman said. “We knew he was a candidate and he was someone we were all really pulling for because we know him personally and, more importantly, we know he’ll hold us to the championship expectations that we’ve had in the past.”
As a result, Waterman said, the transition from Powell to Little will be virtually seamless. Much easier, he said, than if the school had brought in a coach from outside the Elon coaching network.
“It’s much easier to transition to Coach Little because we’ve all worked with him before,” Waterman said. “We know what he’s going to expect out of us and his style of coaching, which you don’t really get if you get a coach who hasn’t worked with you before.”
Little understands his players wanting to keep everything as similar to Powell’s regime as possible and has therefore pledged to keep his coaching philosophy as similar to Powell’s as he can.
“There isn’t anything that’s broken,” Little said. “If you look at the success in the last couple years, it’s unprecedented. So why change anything? It’s only a matter of continuing where Darren left off.”
Little understands that it will be difficult to maintain the success Powell had, especially after last year’s NCAA tournament run, but doesn’t feel any added pressure to live up to lofty expectations.
“Any time you’re going to take over from someone who’s had such a high level of success, it’s going to be difficult,” Little said. “What he’s achieved at Elon has been incredible. I have some very big shoes to fill, but I’m to add to Darren’s success.”
Waterman doesn’t see any scenario in which a new coach limits the success the program has had over the last few seasons. In fact, Waterman said he thinks Little will bring the program to new heights.
“There’s no question we can maintain the recent success we’ve had, even with a new coach,” Waterman said. “Coach Little is going to take the success we’ve already had and build on it and take us to a level we’ve never reached before.”
(05/09/14 3:15am)
The Elon University softball team lost its second straight game in Southern Conference Tournament to host University of North Carolina at Greensboro 4-2 May 8 in a consolation bracket game at UNCG Softball Park in Greensboro. The loss was the Phoenix’s second in as many days, thus eliminating them from postseason play.
(05/07/14 10:06pm)
In its first game of the Southern Conference tournament, the Elon University softball team made history, just not the kind it was hoping to.
(05/05/14 1:44am)
For the second time in three games, the Elon University softball team was routed by the University of North Carolina at Greensboro after just five innings. The latest, an 8-0 drubbing in the finale of the teams’ three-game series, was Elon’s last tune-up for the Southern Conference Tournament, which starts Wednesday, May 7 in Greensboro.
(05/04/14 3:36am)
The Elon University softball team was swept by local rival University of North Carolina at Greensboro 10-2 and 10-8 in the first two games of a three-game set May 3 at UNCG Softball Park in Greensboro in what is the Phoenix’s last series before postseason play begins next week.
(05/01/14 12:20am)
Softball is a team game, and everyone on the Elon University softball team has made contributions to the team’s success. But three players — sophomore Emily Cameron, senior Carleigh Nester and freshman Alaina Hall — have shouldered the large majority of the offensive load.
Elon’s “Big Three” have scored 90 of the team’s 193 runs and contributed 75 of Elon’s 183 RBIs.
To see just how much these three are relied upon to generate offense, look no further than the gap between Nester — who has the lowest batting average of the three at .306 — and the team’s role players, the best of whom is hitting .245.
“They bring so much to the table,” Elon head coach Kathy Bocock said. “Other teams know about them and their impact on our offense and they focus on them, which gives the other young ladies a chance to step up.”
Hall said she feeds off Nester and Cameron’s success because it motivates her to up her game to match their performance.
“They motivate me to be better every day,” Hall said. “When they get a hit, I want to get a hit. It’s just the way I am. I’m a competitor. I want to be the best, and playing with Carleigh and [Cameron] will help me get there.”
Individually, Hall has been enormously productive for a player in her first year at the collegiate level. She has the team’s highest batting average at .354 and has 51 hits on the season. She’s also driven in 13 runs and has three home runs under her belt.
Her production, Nester said, has been anything but surprising given the poise and maturity she’s shown as a true freshman.
“She picks up on things that other people don’t, things that other people miss,” Nester said. “She’s so dedicated to her game and to improving that she was bound to have success right away.”
Cameron is hitting .320, has seven home runs and 23 RBIs. She leads the team with an on-base percentage of .406, and is second on the team with a .516 slugging percentage.
Her bat, Hall said, is vital to the Elon’s lineup, because she brings run-producing power bat to the middle of the order.
“If she’s on, if she’s hitting well, then there aren’t too many hitters who can match her production,” Hall said. “She’s capable of carrying our offense by herself if she has to.”
Nester, the only upperclassman of the three, is hitting .306, is second on the team in hits with 44 and leads the team with 13 home runs and a slugging percentage of .660.
Hall said Nester always “comes through in the clutch.”
“Carleigh’s our leader,” Hall said. “She’s who we turn to for the big hit in the big moment with the game on the line because she always delivers the hit we need. It makes the rest of us want to match her success and be able to deliver if we ever are up in that situation.”
With the Southern Conference tournament looming, the Phoenix expects its big hitters to continue being catalysts of an offense that struggles without their consistent production.
If Hall, Cameron and Nester are able to stay hot and lead the team on a late-season run, the Phoenix could find the momentum necessary to make a late push for a bid to the NCAA tournament.
(04/28/14 6:56pm)
Golf without Tiger Woods is plenty exciting.
(04/28/14 3:16am)
The final game for the six seniors on the Elon University softball team — left fielder Carleigh Nester, shortstop Ali Ford, right fielder Lauren Oldham, designated player Johanna Spencer, outfielder Amanda Allen and the injured Karen Berna — could not have been scripted any better.