ELON, N.C. – College of Charleston pushed CAA leader Elon to the end on Saturday before a Phoenix goal in the 80th minute produced a 3-2 victory over the Cougars.

The loss keeps Charleston in fifth place with 11 points, trailing Elon (19), Hofstra and UNCW (14) and Drexel (12). The Cougars are just ahead of Northeastern (10) and William & Mary (9) in the race for one of six berths in the conference tournament.

A goal by Chris Elliott on an assist by Lucas Cedermark produced a 2-2 tie in the 74th minute and gave the freshman eight on the season to stay in a tie for third in the CAA. It stayed even until Elon took the lead for good on a goal by Vemund Hole Vik six minutes later.

"I'm proud of our guys' mentality today. We came out and battled very hard," said head coach Keith Wiggans. "We made a couple mistakes, and a talented Elon team punished us. We have to be better to get results in this tough league."

The Cougars took the early lead when a foul in the box in the sixth minute led to a successful penalty kick by Leonardo D'Ambrosio for his fourth goal of the year. Elon responded with goals in the 12th and 22nd minutes, however, to take a 2-1 lead into halftime.

The Phoenix held a 14-10 advantage in shots with Justin Bauer making three saves for the Cougars. Iker Carew led Charleston with three shots, one more than Elliott and D'Ambrosio.

The Cougars play their final home game of the season on Tuesday at 6 p.m. against North Florida before finishing CAA play at Hofstra next Saturday.