Elon women's soccer wraps up unbeaten weekend in Wilmington
The Elon University women’s soccer team closed out its weekend trip to Wilmington by defeating Francis Marion University 3-1 on Sunday, Sept. 14.
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The Elon University women’s soccer team closed out its weekend trip to Wilmington by defeating Francis Marion University 3-1 on Sunday, Sept. 14.
WILMINGTON — The Elon University women’s soccer team got back on the winning track by defeating Coastal Carolina 1-0 on Friday, Sept. 12.
The Elon University women’s soccer team kept its composure despite struggles to open up the year. After beating Jacksonville State University 2-0 in its season opener, the Phoenix has lost four straight games. “Four straight losses is something we’re not used to,” said Elon head coach Chris Neal. “The only way to get out of a rut is to keep working harder and take the opportunities when they present themselves.” Elon’s been outscored 13-1 in the four losses, namely a 5-0 loss to Clemson University. “Obviously it’s a disappointment, but we’ll get there,” freshman Sydney Schilling said. Neal said he doesn’t believe the team lacks the skill to compete. Rather, it’s a combination of different circumstances that has kept the team from producing more positive results. “We’re playing well in certain spells and not playing well in other spells, and things just don’t seem to be going our way,” Neal said. “When you’re not playing your best for 90 minutes, and things don’t seem to be going your way, that’s a bad combination.” The Phoenix fought hard in its losses to ranked opponents Clemson and West Virginia University, but losses to in-state rivals Appalachian State University and High Point University stung Neal the most. Elon lost 3-1 to Appalachian State Aug. 24 and 3-0 to High Point Sept. 5. “The High Point game was very similar to the App State game for me in how it went down. The games were pretty even until they scored,” Neal said. “Even in the High Point game, we were putting them under a lot of pressure the last ten minutes. We just couldn’t get that game-tying goal.” The Phoenix was unable to equalize and even found itself conceding twice while on the hunt for a goal. But Neal said he thought the first half was where the Phoenix failed to capitalize. “We had two great chances to go up in the game against High Point 1-0. One clanged off the underside of the crossbar in the first half and the other was saved brilliantly by the goalkeeper,” Neal said. He added the team has the leadership to right the ship. “I wouldn’t say the team is getting down, but there’s certainly a level of frustration involved,” Neal said. “The captains are doing a good job focusing on the process of getting better each day and doing the small details, and hopefully, things will click.” Neal has been tweaking with the lineup and on-field personnel throughout the season and admits it’s still a work in progress. “We’re still going to experiment with not only player personnel, but with the rotation patterns, phases, first phase, second phase, maybe even a third phase until something clicks,” Neal said. Neal said players have responded well to the squad’s rotation, and he doesn’t think players have been affected by playing out of position. “We’ve got good soccer players who are quite versatile,” Neal said. “We’re not going to over-read into things and look at stuff like that. Right now we’re just looking for the right fit.” Of 13 goals conceded by the Phoenix, 11 have come in the second half, but the team’s second-half strugglers can’t be blamed on a lack of fitness. “It’s easy to look at the second half box score and say we’ve given up a lot of goals in the second half so fitness must be an issue, but I’m really not convinced that’s the case at this point,” Neal said. He remains focused on preparing the team for the start of the conference season and is busy looking for solutions rather than asking more questions.
HIGH POINT — The Elon University women’s soccer team dropped its fourth straight match on Friday, Sept. 5, a 3-0 loss to High Point University.
Elon University junior defender Mel Insley is back in action for the women’s soccer team after suffering ACL and menisicus injuries that kept her from the field.
The Elon University women’s soccer team lost its third straight match on Sunday, Aug. 31, falling to No. 11 West Virginia University 2-0.
As Elon University is poised to kick off its inaugural Colonial Athletic Association campaign, fans and players alike are eager to check out each new opponent the Phoenix will face. For the Elon women’s soccer team, there are plenty of exciting fixtures before its conference opener Sept. 26 against Hofstra University. “We’ve got a full spectrum of teams and RPI [Rankings],” said Elon women’s soccer coach Chris Neal. The Phoenix will once again have a formidable nonconference schedule that includes matchups with two power conference schools: the Big 12’s West Virginia University and the Atlantic Coast Conference’s Clemson University. Elon rekindled its Southern Conference rivalry with Appalachian State University in the team’s second game of the year. Appalachian State won 3-1. After a pair of exhibition contests against Liberty University and Catawba College, the Phoenix opened up its season with a 2-0 victory against Jacksonville State University Aug. 22. With matches against Jacksonville State, Appalachian State and Clemson, Elon opens with three consecutive home games at Rudd Field. “It’s going to be a great homestand,” said junior midfielder Taylor Glenn. As a young team that’s still learning to play with one another, Elon could use a homestand to start the year. “It’ll be great to play together and get our style down,” said senior forward Marissa Russo. The contest with Appalachian State was one between two teams who know each other very well. “It [was] nice to see some familiar faces,” said sophomore defender Erin Tanhauser. Last season, neither team was able to get the better of the other as the match ended in a 3-3 draw. In 2012, the teams split their two meetings with Elon losing to the Mountaineers in the regular season, but knocked out their rivals in the opening round of the SoCon tournament. On Aug. 24, Appalachian State scored three goals during an 11-minute span in the second half for the victory. Although both schools have left the SoCon for larger pastures (Appalachian State is now in the Sun Belt Conference), the meeting was an opportunity to rekindle a fierce rivalry. “When we play App State it’s always a physical, tough game,” Russo said. “It’s a game of who wants it more.” Neal said he enjoys scheduling not only Appalachian State but also other in-state rivals. “I think it’s really important to continue those in-state rivalries,” Neal said. “Those are always great games. Both teams don’t have to travel very far, and there’s a lot of coaching friendships. A lot of players have friends and family that may have ended up at other schools, so there’s that unique element as well.” Neal added how beating in-state rivals can boost Elon’s reputation in the recruiting game. He said creating a recruiting hotbed within the state can give Elon a much-needed boost heading into a new conference. “[The CAA] is a league that, from a women’s soccer perspective, has a richer tradition than the Southern Conference,” Neal said. Admittedly, many CAA schools have the tradition and history to recruit top talent. But Neal said he feels Elon’s program is making the necessary adjustments. The Phoenix will face two more in-state rivals to open up the month of September. The Phoenix will travel to take on High Point University Sept. 5, and will stay on the road to take on East Carolina University in Greenville two days later. After Appalachian State comes to town, the Phoenix will wrap up its homestand with a matchup against Clemson. It will kick off two straight matches against power conference schools as the Phoenix heads to Morgantown, West Virginia, to take on West Virginia University. This will mark the first time since 2012 that the Phoenix has faced a team from a “big five” conference. During that season, Elon faced three of them, drawing with the Big East’s University of Cincinnati and losing to the ACC’s Duke University and North Carolina State University. It was a tough stretch for the Phoenix, as it scored only one goal in three matches. But this squad is excited for a new opportunity. “[These games] challenge us and force us to be better players,” Russo said. The games against Clemson and West Virginia will give the Phoenix an opportunity to close in on its season-long goal. “These games will be great opportunities for us to increase our national ranking,” Glenn said. “Last year, we broke into the top 75, and this year our goal is to get into the top 50. If we can get good results against good teams like that it’ll really help us out.” In all, what the Phoenix wants is a solid preparation for its inaugural CAA season. The team has a one-game-at-a-time approach, but Glenn admitted it’s the conference games that “matter the most.” With a new conference comes new challenges, and aside from unfamiliar opponents, the conference brings with it a decidedly heightened level of play. For Neal, the matchups with West Virginia and Clemson will prepare the team for the new competition. “Playing the Clemsons and West Virginias will give us a better idea of how we can athletically match up against the James Madisons, the William & Marys, and Hofstras of the CAA,” Neal said. Neal, who served as an assistant at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington for eight years, knows firsthand the top-level athletes that grace the CAA. “You’re going to have less time and space on the ball,” Neal said. “The level of athletes in the Colonial is going to make it very uncomfortable. It’s going to be a faster game.” He found the Phoenix was the most athletic team on the field in almost all of its conference matchups last year, but knows this year will be a completely different story. “The hurdle for us, in the first year, is we’re going to face some teams that are more athletic than us,” Neal said. Elon will have nine non-conference matches before it gets into the swing of conference play. After posting a 6-1-2 record in last year’s non-conference slate, there’s certainly a lot to look forward to. Regardless of how things go, Neal is committed to making adjustments to get the team playing the right way. “Based on how we do in the non-conference, we may have to change tactics to compete the way we want to compete in the Colonial,” he said.
The Elon University women’s soccer team’s streak of 24 straight matches with at least one goal came to an end on Friday, Aug. 29, as the Phoenix fell to Clemson University 5-0 at Rudd Field.
The Elon University women’s soccer team comes off an impressive 2013 campaign with a record of 13-3-6, with one of the three losses in the Southern Conference Championship game against Furman University. Elon’s tremendous run was on the tail end of a season-long offensive outburst. But the 2014 version of the Phoenix will be without many of the players who led the team to the conference final. “There’s a lot of unanswered questions as to who exactly we’re going to be,” said Elon head women’s soccer coach Chris Neal. “Time will tell, and my only expectation is to take it day by day and make sure we get better as a team.” Star forward and reigning SoCon Player of the Year Nicole Dennion will miss the 2014 season via a redshirt year. With Jennifer McGorty and Catherine Brinkman graduated, the Phoenix has lost each of its top three goal scorers from last year. “We scored 56 goals last year, and 42 of those goals are not returning,” Neal said. Elon’s 56 goals ranked eighth nationally in scoring offense. Elon’s opponents also failed to post a shutout in any of the 22 matches. Senior forward Marissa Russo is the highest returning goal scorer for Elon, racking up five goals and four assists. Russo said she believes she will need to increase her production in her senior year. “Entering the [Colonial Athletic Association], I have to increase [my scoring]. [I’m] definitely going to have to score more goals and have more assists if we’re going to compete,” Russo said. Last year, the Phoenix was able to rely on Dennion’s lethal season. The Ewing, New Jersey, native racked up 15 of the team’s 56 goals. The team is set up for a more balanced attack in 2014. “The goals are going to come from everyone,” said sophomore defender Erin Tanhauser. “I think we’re all going to step up.” In addition to a balanced scoring attack, Elon feels its style of play will yield plenty of goals. Neal’s system has the Phoenix playing a fast-paced style of soccer. For example, once the ball is lost, each player will be looking to win the ball back immediately. This philosophy may seem obvious, but aggressive defense can result in goals on the other end. “All of our goals come from our style of play of hard defending that puts the other team under pressure, so they make mistakes that we can capitalize off of,” said junior midfielder Taylor Glenn. In terms of personnel, the Phoenix will use a variety of players in an effort to replicate last year’s offensive outburst. Neal admits he is still uncertain who will be the ones to lead the offense, but he’s excited about his options. “There’s a lot of question marks up top, [but] there’s also a lot of opportunity for not only the returners, but also for the freshmen,” Neal said. Elon’s front three will look a bit different this year. Russo will once again line up on the right wing, but some different faces will occupy the central and left-sided forward positions. Freshman Grace Bennett is eager to get her shot up top for the Phoenix. The Rocky River, Ohio native has turned heads in the early goings thus far. “Her fitness has been off the charts,” Neal said. Bennett has been playing mostly in the right forward position behind Russo, but she said she believes she and the rest of the freshmen are poised to make an impact. “The freshmen are ready to step up to whatever the coaches ask of us,” Bennett said. Freshman Sue Anderson and senior Raychel Diver will look to fill the void at the center forward position. Diver played as a midfielder in 2013, but Neal moved her to the forward spot during their spring sessions. “She’s getting thrown into a role where she’s going to get a lot more minutes,” Neal said. Anderson, a native of Jacksonville, Florida, will look to be a scoring threat in the air. “Goals are going to come from our outside forwards crossing it in to players who are hungry in front of the net and wanting to score,” Russo said. Elon will also look to get its fullbacks ahead from its defensive lines to provide further options to cross the ball into the box. With a tall 5-foot-10-inch frame, Anderson could find herself on the end of a number of crosses this season. On the left side, sophomore Hannah Howard and freshman Sydney Schilling will be battling for minutes. Both call Florida home, with Howard hailing from Sarasota and Schilling from Oviedo. There’s another trio that is looking to continue Elon’s explosive offense — the midfield. The Phoenix’s three midfield positions in the center of the pack are the lynchpin of Elon’s attack. “Out of midfield, we require a whole lot out of work rate. Those players log a lot of mileage every game, and just three players won’t get it done for us,” Neal said. With such a high tempo playing style, Neal recognizes the need to use the squad’s depth to keep the players’ legs fresh. “We’re going to use at least six players to be a six-headed monster for us in the middle of the park and dominate the space between the [defensive and forward] lines,” he said. Neal added that sophomore midfielder Kelly Siewers can play a key role linking up play with the forwards. “We’re really expecting big things from Siewers in the attacking center midfield role,” Neal said. “She came in really fit, and we’re excited about what she can bring to the table for us.” Siewers appeared in all but one match in 2013. She featured mainly as a substitute but managed to tally two goals and an assist to her name. After being picked eighth in the CAA preseason polls, it would be easy to call last season’s goal surge a one-and-done. But the team is confident in its system and one another. “We’re going to go out and try to replicate the success we had last year,” Neal said. “We’re not going to change anything out of the gate. We’re going to carry on being who we are. Hopefully the personnel can rise to the challenge.”
The Elon University women’s soccer team fell to in-state rival Appalachian State University on Sunday, Aug. 24 by a score of 3-1.
The Elon University women’s soccer team opened up its 2014 season in winning fashion with a 2-0 victory against Jacksonville State University.
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