The Elon University women’s lacrosse team is back at Rhodes Stadium for a mid-week game on Wednesday, March 18 at 7 p.m. The Phoenix has faced a few setbacks recently that have made them hungry for the makeup match against Longwood University. After two back-to-back losses to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Campbell University, Elon is looking to get back on a winning streak this week as they take on the Lancers.
This game was originally scheduled to be Elon’s first home game back in February, but was cancelled during one of the snow storms that hit the Triad. The two teams are set to square off Wednesday despite the recent wintry mix that hit Elon’s campus over the past couple of days. The harsh weather still managed to weasel its way into the schedule, though, as it prevented the Phoenix from getting a real practice in since its last game on Saturday, March 15. Fortunately, as some of the ice melted Tuesday, the team was able to get together and get some stick work in and watch film to prepare for the game.
This lack of practice could prove to be a disadvantage for the Phoenix as it takes on the Lancers who are coming off of a 16-13 win over Old Dominion.
It should be quite a battle between the two teams, as Elon is averaging 8.75 goals per game. Anna Vitton leads with 14 goals and Sloane Kessler is right behind her with 13 goals and 12 assists this season. The Phoenix will be looking to Kessler to continue to drive the attack up and down the field. The Longwood attack is strong as well, averaging 12.5 goals per game led by Junior Kacey Norwood who leads the team with 17 goals and 10 assists.
The Phoenix defense is going to need to stay true to itself and step up to stop that Lancer attack. Goalkeepers on both teams are averaging just over 13 goals against per game, but Elon goalie Rachel Ramirez has almost twice as many saves with 91 on the year and an impressive .45 save percentage. The NCAA released its latest set of women’s lacrosse statistics rankings on March 17 that put Ramirez on the map. Ramirez is second in the country in saves and second in saves per game (11.38).
This match up against Big South opponent Longwood will be an important one for the Phoenix looking ahead, as the team is seeking that spark to get them firing again.