Elon University’s soccer program is red-hot right now. The first few weeks of games have gone extremely well for the Phoenix, and both soccer teams are playing incredible on the field.
Between the men’s and women’s combined 9-0 record, the program is on a tour of wins as the soccer season begins. Elon soccer is the only current program in all of Division I to be undefeated and untied. Additionally, men’s soccer is ranked No. 20 in the nation by the United Soccer Coaches Poll — the first time the team has reached the top 20 since 2015.
Men’s soccer head coach Marc Reeves attributed this hot start to the team’s daily commitment.
“It’s getting up every day and attacking it with a positive mindset to get the most out of it and improve as individuals,” Reeves said.
After losing on penalty kicks in the CAA semi-final, Reeves said the team came back to work very quickly after the loss. He also said they have a strong mentality to put themselves back in that position, and this mentality has fueled their 5-0 start.
Reeves said he believes that maintaining this level of play will be crucial and it will be even more important for the team to prepare for how to react after a loss.
“If we can go 17 regular season games without any losses or ties that'd be incredible, but at the point it does happen and we tie a game or lose a game, how does our group respond?” Reeves said. “How do we go back to work, how do we stay committed to our process and goals? That's the key to it.”
The men’s team has been led by the offensive efforts of graduate student Victor Stromsten, senior Scott Vatne and junior transfer Colin Veltri. All of them have three goals and at least three assists.
Veltri said he believes a huge part of their success so far has been due to the cohesiveness of the team.
“Our locker room is where the youngest freshman can talk to the oldest senior, and it's not a drop off from awkwardness or anything,” Veltri said. “Everyone's talking, no matter what age they are, minutes played, everyone's treated the exact same.”
Elon senior and co-captain Scott Vatne brings the ball up the field during a game against Grand Canyon University on Sept. 2.
Veltri also said this cohesiveness has allowed the team to know each other’s tendencies on the field even with players who haven’t gotten many minutes so far, which will help down the line when other players carve out a role later in the season.
Veltri said he is happy with the top 20 ranking, but said it will only be worth it if they pay it off with a CAA title.
“It's like investing, when you put in money now it doesn’t matter if the market's up right now. It just matters when you take it out, and for us, the rankings will matter at the end of the season,” Veltri said. “We do love the hot start, and that's what we've worked for, but to be completely honest, that's not our end goal.”
On the women’s side, head coach Neil Payne attributes their equally good start to the players’ preparation.
“I think they came in to start preseason with a certain level of fitness, which made it easier for us to roll out our style of play and our structure and not have to worry about that too much,” Payne said.
Junior Rachel Buckle also said their preparation has helped the team so far. Buckle said over the summer, the team checked in with one another to make sure they were staying connected.
“We had accountability groups where we were checking in, making sure everyone was getting prepared,” Buckle said. “Everyone working together has been the biggest thing, and not trying to do it as an individual effort because we have so much individual talent on this team, but what sets us apart right now is our ability to use those talents as a group.”
Payne praised the team’s resilience in facing adversity and is happy with how they’ve been able to pull out wins despite certain obstacles.
“When we have conceded some goals, panic hasn't set in and we've had a good response to it,” Payne said. “There's been games where we've had to absorb some pressure because the opponent is throwing lots of numbers at us, and I feel like we've dealt with that extremely well.”
The team is spearheaded by Preseason All-Conference selections sophomore Grace Gelhaus and graduate student Katie Lowe, along with redshirt sophomore Isa Murdock — who leads the team with three goals so far.
Looking toward the rest of the season, Payne said she believes the team can’t just rely on wins because that is bound to change at some point. Instead, he hopes to have the team focus on improving their defense to make Elon a difficult team to beat.
“If you're a team that is hard to be broken down, and you can limit chances, I think you've got a good structure in place,” Payne said. “Everybody's celebrating the wins right now, and some of the goals we’re scoring, but that doesn't happen unless you have a solid defensive structure.”
The concurrent success of both teams reflects well on the long-term development of Elon’s soccer program. Both teams are setting their sights on a CAA title. For the men it would be the first ever, but for the women it would be the first time since the 2020-21 season.
Reeves praised the development of Elon’s soccer program and is glad that the women’s team is shining alongside the men.
“Coach Payne and myself respect the way both of us are working, and it's a good harmony,” Reeves said. “The girls team is doing great, which is awesome. They're putting a lot of work in, it's just great when there's success on both sides.”
Payne echoed Reeves' statement, saying that it speaks to how respectful they are of each other’s teams.
“Some of our biggest fans are the men's team and vice versa,” Payne said. “We work well with each other, we collaborate, and overall, it's a very positive atmosphere that we genuinely want each other to do well.”