WILMINGTON, N.C. – After last year’s high scoring affair which resulted in a 4-3 overtime victory for the Phoenix at Rudd Field, the Elon University men’s soccer team found itself in another hard fought battle against the University of North Carolina Wilmington Seahawks on Saturday night.
Heading into tonight’s matchup, Elon was in first place in the Colonial Athletic Association standings, two points ahead of the second place Seahawks. With a win being worth three points, the Phoenix needed either a win or a tie in order to win the conference outright.
With a CAA regular season title on the line, the Phoenix prevailed to a 0-0 draw behind a gritty defensive performance. The shutout was Elon’s 10th of the season.
Because they had to win in order to become regular season champions, UNCW was on the offensive all game long, as the Seahawks pressured Elon’s defense throughout. However, the Phoenix held firm, and held on to become outright CAA regular season champions for the first time in program history. Elon previously won a share of the CAA regular season title in 2015.
By winning the regular season title, the Phoenix will be the No. 1 seed in the upcoming CAA tournament and will host the entire event.
Elon will get a bye into the semifinals of the CAA Tournament, which will have a field of six teams. Elon’s semifinal match will start at 1 p.m. on Nov. 6 at Rudd Field.