The men’s soccer team netted four goals in route to its sixth win, seventh shutout and eighth straight game without a loss.

The goals, scored by four different Elon players, propelled the Phoenix past the Appalachian State Mountaineers on Saturday night. Elon now stands at 6-2-3 overall and 3-0-0 in conference play.

With the win, the Phoenix has built an eight game unbeaten streak, the second longest in school history. An unbeaten streak of 11 games has occurred twice, and stands as the school record.

Only recently having its school record-setting shutout streak snapped against Clemson University on Sept. 25, Elon is now making a push at yet another school record.

“I told the guys we had tremendous results tonight, but it’s over with,” head coach Darren Powell said. “We’ve got to get ready for the next one and that’s what we’re doing. One day at a time, one practice at a time and one game at a time.”

Scoring began at the 38:24 mark, when sophomore Daniel Street netted his first goal of the season. The Phoenix struck fast on the goal moving the ball quickly down field to Street who finished the sequence.

No further goals were tallied in the first half, and play began slowly when the teams took the field for the second half.

In the 59th minute, freshman defenseman Chris Leko scored Elon’s second goal, which broke the game wide open.

“As we scored we got more confidence,” junior Will Mason said. “For a while they had the ball non-stop, but then we netted our first and second, and our confidence kept going from there.”

Sophomore forward Justin Wyatt beat the Mountaineer’s keeper Greg Walters for the team’s third goal. Wyatt has now scored in four consecutive games bringing his season total to seven.

Elon’s final goal was scored by junior Aaron Parker on a one-on-one breakaway with Walters.

The offensive production overshadowed the Phoenix’s dominant defense, who notched its seventh shutout of the season. A strong mid-field and defensive line shut down most of the Mountaineers’ threats before they could develop. When Appalachian State did get chances, keeper Clint Irwin made sure none of the four shots he faced found the back of the net to preserve Elon’s eight game unbeaten streak.

Though on the verge of making history for the second time this season, the team is too focused to think about the streak.

“I didn’t even know that we hadn’t lost in eight straight, so we’re just taking it a game at a time,” Wyatt said.

Powell said, there’s no time to dwell on streaks, and he said he believes there is still much to improve upon.

“We have to try to get better, we want to get better every time we play a game, and I think today we got a little bit better,” he said.

“I think [our fans] are starting to see what we’re capable of,” Wyatt said.

Elon will host the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill Tar Heels on Tuesday. This will be the team’s second match against an ACC team in four games.

The last time they squared off against
an opponent from the ACC, the Phoenix hosted the nation’s No.1 ranked team, Wake Forest,
 battling the Demon Deacons to a 1-1 tie.


UNC just lost to conference rival and nationally fourth ranked University of Virginia, falling to 3-3-4 on the
 season. Elon’s win on Saturday improved them to 6-2-3, and as of then, had accumulated an eight-game unbeaten streak.

The Phoenix and Tar Heels matchup has become a tradition. Unfortunately that tradition is a losing one for the Phoenix. In 12 matches against the Tar Heels, Elon is 0-12. The Phoenix is getting closer though. Last year, Elon held the Tar Heels scoreless through regulation, but ended up losing in overtime 1-0.

NOTE:

The Phoenix faced off against the Chattanooga Mocs last night. The game was played after The Pendulum went to print and was not covered in this issue.

Reporter: Kris Moody - 10/10/07