Elon men's soccer competed against Guilford College on Oct. 6 at Rudd Field. The Phoenix looked to remain undefeated at home and add another win to the column.
In the first minute of the game, sophomore defender Tønnes Daland made a direct go-ahead pass to redshirt freshman Diego Thompson. After that pass, the Phoenix went under a dry spell and couldn’t get anything going.
Later into the match, Elon showed improved ball movement and had many opportunities to score but couldn’t capitalize.
Senior forward Jordin Wilson had an opportunity at goal, but it was blocked. In a second attempt, Wilson had a sweet pass to redshirt junior midfielder Ben Madore, but the ball missed the back of the net.
Guilford’s goalie remained strong, and the Phoenix struggled to get anything past as the first half continued.
Even though the team couldn’t connect offensively, they remained strong on defense. They stopped Guilford's attack and weren’t allowing them any space to breathe.
With 23 minutes left in the first half, Madore had a crisp pass to redshirt junior forward Dominik Renz. Renz capitalized, and the Phoenix got over the hump and took the lead, 1-0.
Right after the Phoenix scored, the Quakers pushed down the field, but Elon ended that immediately.
Three minutes later, Renz broke free again and connected to score his second goal of the night. Elon extended the lead to 2-0.
Renz said that as a striker, he got himself in a position to score.
“As a striker, it’s always good to score goals, and get that confidence for the next games, and also for the team,” Renz said. “I feel like I got two perfect assists from Ben, and the first one I pushed with my left foot to the top corner, and the other one played well as a team before, got the ball on the right and then put it in the long corner.”
On the other end of the field, redshirt freshman goalie Mikolaj Lenarcik handled business and contributed two saves in the half.
For the rest of the half, the Phoenix controlled the tempo. After two assists, Madore scored a goal himself, and the Phoenix went up 3-0.
Right before halftime, the team got on the board one last time thanks to another assist from Madore to redshirt sophomore Alex Wharton.
Madore contributed to all four of the Phoenix’s goals in the first half. The team carried a 4-0 lead entering halftime.
Renz said head coach Marc Reeves gave them some advice at halftime to help them clinch the victory.
“He said we have to be tighter, even though we were leading four to zero, and not take it too easy in the second half,” Renz said. “Keep pushing, keep scoring goals, keep putting them under pressure and get the result done.”
The Phoenix entered the second half looking to carry on the flame that fueled them in the first. Wharton played sophomore defender Graham Jones a clean pass that facilitated what was shaping up to be a dangerous chance until Guilford tackled the ball out of bounds.
Wilson had a breakaway that looked promising, but his shot sailed wide at the last second. The team continued to hunt for another opportunity to extend the lead.
Freshman midfielder Henry Mertsch played a fast ball to Wharton as the team continued to play in a high-pressure and suffocating formation. Wharton rocketed off a hard shot, but Guilford’s keeper dove for the save.
Wilson got his shot to score for Elon after an assist from Jones and redshirt sophomore midfielder Oscar Tonidandel, resulting in a goal that the Quakers failed to clear off the line, bringing the score to 5-0.
The Phoenix weren’t satisfied with five goals — Wharton beat Guilford for another breakaway, but his chip over the keeper hit the crossbar, and the stadium was brought to its knees.
The disappointment wouldn’t last long. Freshman forward Robbie Reeves buried the ball in the bottom left of the goal off of an assist from Wharton for his first career college goal, rounding the score out to 6-0.
Renz’s performance was nothing short of fiery, and he burned the Quakers' shaky defense with his third goal of the night — earning himself a hat trick — off of an assist from Reeves.
Late in the second half, a Guilford player went down with an injury. Reeves stepped up and carried him off the field in a moment of sportsmanship and professionalism.
Elon’s momentum continued with another assist from Reeves, this time converted into a goal by redshirt junior midfielder JP Quigley. Guilford held off further scoring by denying the team two back-to-back chances.
With two minutes left in the match, Wharton rocketed off a shot that hit the side netting. The Phoenix would round out the game with 35 shots to the Quakers’ one, and a final score of 8-0.
Reeves said that this game was important to give new players the opportunity to show off their skills, like his son Robbie.
“We were able to rest some key players that have some depth, and some players who stepped up in different positions tonight played really well,” Reeves said. “This is important during this time of year, and the attacking side of it, when we share the ball correctly and concentrate, we can score good goals.”
Elon next plays on the road at the College of Charleston at 1 p.m. on Oct. 10.
Bea Bateman contributed to the reporting in this story.