In a thrilling, hard fought, matchup between the Elon University men’s soccer team and University of North Carolina, Greensboro Spartans, one team had to lose and that was the Phoenix. Elon was defeated in penalty kicks 4-3, ending any chance of advancing in the National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I Tournament.
Although it marked a devastating ending to a season that saw the Phoenix finish No. 1 in the Coastal Athletic Association en route to the conference title, head coach Marc Reeves said he could not be more proud of what his team accomplished.
“I’m proud of our group,” Reeves said. “You can only win three trophies in a season – regular season, tournament championship and NCAA National Championship. To have two of them sit in our locker room is an incredible achievement by the boys.”
UNCG began the game trying to spread out Elon’s defense on the attack. With UNC-Greensboro Soccer Stadium consisting of wider dimensions than Rudd Field, the Spartans attempted to use that to their advantage.
However, Elon’s defense consistently made the Spartans work for every shot. Out of the 11 shots UNCG attempted in the first half, only one shot was saved by graduate goalie Jackson Leavitt.
The score remained 0-0 heading into halftime as Elon only attempted one shot in the first half. The Phoenix began the second half more offensively aggressive, trying to spread the field more frequently. Seven minutes into the half, sophomore midfielder Weston Jonke had a decent look to give Elon a 1-0 lead, but his shot attempt misfired.
After the miss, both offenses went quiet until there were 20 minutes left of the half. First, UNCG senior midfielder Daniel Longo had a shot attempt blocked by a diving Leavitt. That seemed to ignite the Phoenix offense, as Jonke seemed to get past the Spartan defense. However, UNCG sophomore defender Mohammed Sumaila managed to get back in front of him, deflecting the shot and keeping the game scoreless.
Less than a minute later, the Spartans appeared to have an even better scoring opportunity as senior defender Téva Lossec had the entire Phoenix defense out of position. But like a few minutes earlier, Leavitt shut the door with a sliding kick save, causing a collective groan from the energetic home crowd.
It was another terrific performance for Leavitt who ranked No. 10 in save percentage amongst all goalies nationally after receiving little playing time his first four years. Leavitt said he believes he was able to exit knowing he gave his all which was most important to him.
“I don't think we're going out with our heads hung low,” Leavitt said. “A lot of my season was about self belief and just going out with no fear. I just believed in the process and I never gave up.”
The game remained tied heading into overtime. Elon senior Majaliwa Msabaha said that as a defense, all of their grit and determination from the season showed up tonight.
“We’re just a hard working group,” Msabaha said. “You can see it on the field, because if someone makes a mistake on the field, someone is there to recover from it, and that's because we are a community.”
After a quiet first overtime, Elon had a golden chance to score the first goal in the second one. Junior forward Jordin Wilson was able to get a step ahead of the Spartan defense and got close enough to score. However, his shot to the top right corner of the goal was just deflected by redshirt junior goalie Seth Wilson.
The game went into penalty kicks where Elon fell behind early due to a missed kick by senior defender Jack Donlan that was followed by a goal from senior forward Arnaud Tattevin. Elon tried to come back, but senior defender Kimito Fritz ended the match with a clinching goal to the bottom of the net.
It was a devastating end to the Phoenix as multiple players were left stunned while the Spartans celebrated with the home fans. However, they left the field with a sense of accomplishment.
Reeves said the team wouldn’t have advanced as far as they did without the type of commitment the players showed. He said that because everyone has played with each other for years, guys know what to expect from one another every game.
“Every program has some transfers, but we had a senior group that stuck with us,” Reeves said. “Everyone plays their part in it and that's what makes coaching special and enjoyable. You get to impact some lives, hopefully. They had an unbelievable impact on my life.”