Elon men’s soccer remains undefeated at home with a dominant 3-0 win against Radford University on Sept. 15.
The Phoenix started early on the attack, with redshirt junior Dominik Renz’s first shot on goal coming within the first three minutes of the game.
Renz followed up moments later, firing a shot that was deflected but found its way to senior Jahmir Flowers’ foot. Flowers finished the attack for his fourth goal of the season. Before this year, the forward had only scored four goals in his entire career.
Senior Jahmir Flowers celebrates his goal against Radford University with his teammates on Sept. 15. The goal was Flowers fourth of the season.
Despite the early energy, Elon’s offense fell stagnant after the first twenty minutes. Radford started making plays up the pitch, putting redshirt freshman keeper Mikolaj Lenarcik in some tight situations.
The Phoenix entered the half with a 1-0 lead, but Renz said the momentum had gotten away from them.
“We just said in the locker room that we have to come out energized in the second half,” Renz said. “We knew that 1-0 is a lead, but one goal for Radford, and everything’s open again.”
The Phoenix entered the second period with a visible shift in aggression.
A pass from redshirt sophomore Oscar Tonidandel found Renz in the middle of the pitch. Renz then backheeled the ball past the defense, with sophomore Alex Wharton running down the field to get into position.
“I see a great ball from Oscar, and then I see Alex — one of our fastest guys on the team — running down the line,” Renz said. “I just had one thing in my mind: ‘Send him down the line. I know he’s fast, and he’s going to finish it.’”
Wharton cashed in on Renz’s pass, extending Elon’s lead to 2-0 with his first goal of the season.
Elon continued to have some opportunities in the opening minutes of the half but were unable to extend the lead.
That’s when Flowers came flying in, aggressively tackling Radford’s Jackson Boreham — a play that ultimately ended with Elon receiving a yellow card. It was the first of three given to the Phoenix in the match. Redshirt junior Caleb Frakes and redshirt freshman Diego Thompson were also given yellow cards.
Despite the penalties, Elon continued to gain momentum.
After a turnover, sophomore Magnus Jacobsen lobbed the ball past Radford down the pitch. Junior Weston Jonke flew past the Highlanders for a one-on-one with Radford’s keeper. He chipped it over to bring Elon’s lead to 3-0 with 13 minutes to play.
The score marked a turnaround for the midfielder. Head coach Marc Reeves said he was not pleased with their performance at the end of the first half.
“I kind of maybe challenged them a little bit at halftime to be better,” Reeves said. “I didn't think they was playing as well as they can, and I thought they did that. And then obviously Weston scoring and having the energy to get all the way up into the box was good.”
Elon held out the rest of the game, clinching its second straight 3-0 victory. With the win, the Phoenix move to 3-2-1 on the season.
Reeves said that as the team turns its attention to a match against the College of Charleston, the focus is on recovery and preparation.
“They're also big and physical, and a conference game,” Reeves said. “The stakes just get up a little bit more, and the league is so good, and it's so tight. Wilmington are perfect right now, so we need to be prepared and play well at home.”
The Phoenix play Charleston at noon, Saturday, Sept. 19, at Rudd Field.
Charlie Wood and Conner Gaffney assisted in the reporting of this story.