Charleston Begins Three-Game Road Trip at Elon on Thursday

Thursday, September 27

Elon, NC - Rudd Field

7:00 PM

College of Charleston

Elon

Charleston Begins Three-Game Road Trip at Elon on Thursday

9/26/2018 12:02:00 PM | Women's Soccer

COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON (6-5-0; 1-1-0 CAA) at ELON (2-4-3; 0-1-0 CAA)
Game #12 • Thurs. Sept. 27, 2018 • 7:00 p.m. ET
Elon, N.C. • Rudd Field
Series: Charleston lead 9-7-2 overall
Last: Oct. 1, 2017; Charleston lost 2-1 in double overtime

Watch: Phoenix All-Access
Stats: StatBroadcast
Twitter: @CofCWSOC

CHARLESTON, S.C. – The College of Charleston women's soccer team open a three-game Colonial Athletic Association road trip with a Thursday evening match at Elon. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. at Rudd Field, the home of Phoenix soccer with the game broadcast live on the Phoenix All-Access network.

Scouting Elon
The Phoenix are 2-4-3 on the season, 0-1-0 CAA, after dropping their conference opener in overtime to Delaware on Sunday afternoon. The Phoenix's initial CAA opener with UNCW was cancelled on Sept. 20 due to the effects of Hurricane Florence, with the game set to be rescheduled for a later date. In the non-conference slate, Elon picked up wins over Richmond (2-0) and Liberty (5-4 in overtime), while dropping games to #11 Duke, Charlotte and Radford. The three draws have come against UNCG, Western Carolina and High Point.

Series History
This will be the 19^th meeting in history between the programs with Charleston holding a 9-7-2 series lead. Head coach Christian Michner is 3-5-1 against the Phoenix, winning in 2011 twice and in 2014. The series between the teams dates back to 1999, with Charleston picking up five straight wins from 2000-2007 when both teams were part of the Southern Conference.

Last Meeting with the Phoenix
Elon took an early lead at Patriots Point Soccer Complex, scoring inside five minutes, before Laura Ortega tied the game up with a free kick midway through the second half. The game entered overtime and then double overtime, the Phoenix scoring minutes into the second overtime period to take the 2-1 win.

Quotable – Head Coach Christian Michner
"After a tough first weekend of CAA games we are ready to start a difficult road stretch. Elon is an old SoCon rival so there is a lot of history between the two programs. They're always tough to play against up in North Carolina so the girls will know we've got our work cut out for us on Thursday night. We've played very well in our first two games and I hope we can come off a disappointing result on Sunday and get back to winning ways this week."

Notables
• Laura Ortega scored two goals in two games en-route to being named CAA Player of the Week
• Ortega is now the sole all-time career points leader at the College of Charleston
• Ortega is now three goals from tying the all-time goals record at CofC
• Genevieve Henderson and Meredith Tunney were the only student-athletes to play the full 105 minutes against Drexel
• Meredith Tunney continues to be the only Charleston student-athlete to play every minute of every game this season (1,021)
• Ortega is also three assists from tying the program record of 22, four from taking the record outright
• Charleston picked up their first win over William & Mary in program history on Sept. 20
• Tunney was named CAA Defender of the Week on Sept. 10
• On her debut for CofC, freshman Hannah Farmer got her first career assist in Charleston's 2-0 win over North Florida
• Kacey Smekrud scored her first collegiate goal on the road at Wake Forest
• Maddy Brill-Edwards got her first assist of the season against Coastal Carolina before getting her second against Florida International; she scored her first goal of the season against Charleston Southern
• Senior forward Laura Ortega was named CAA Preseason Co-Player of the Year
• Ortega and senior defender Maddy Brill-Edwards were named CAA Preseason All-CAA selections

Last Time Out
The Cougars defeated William & Mary behind Laura Ortega's last second 20-yard free-kick. Talia Colchico opened the scoring with a curling right footed effort from the top left of the box with the Tribe hitting back immediately to level the game. As the game entered the final seconds Charleston won a free kick in the left channel just outside the box. Ortega curled her effort over the wall and into the top left corner to give the Cougars the win and move into joint first for career points at CofC. The win also gave Charleston their first in program history over William & Mary.

Record Breaker
CAA Preseason Co-Player of the Year Laura Ortega took control of the all-time points record by scoring two goals in two games last week. Ortega, 61 career points, tied the record with a last-minute game-winning free-kick against William & Mary. She then took control of the record book with a 35-yard free-kick against Drexel on Sept. 23. Ortega is now three goals from tying the career record of 24 set by Kristin Rhyne (2003-05) is third all-time in assists with 19 (three from tying the career record).

Cougars Summary
The College was picked to finish sixth in the Colonial Athletic Association by the league's coaches. Charleston returns 24 letterwinners, including nine starters, while adding 11 newcomers to the roster. The 2018 squad will be led by 2017 All-CAA selection Laura Ortega who led the offense last season with eight goals and five assists; good for 21 points. Senior defender Maddy Brill-Edwards is a Preseason All-CAA selection alongside Ortega who is also the Preseason Co-Player of the Year.