The men’s soccer team was voted “Best Men’s Varsity Sport” by the campus community after a successful season that saw the Phoenix secure a regular season Coastal Athletic Association championship.

The team had many electric moments including starting the season 7-0-1 and entering the top 10 of Top Drawer Soccer’s national rankings for the first time since 2015. The season also included senior ScottVatne being named the CAA Player of the Year. After a strong start, the team dropped four straight losses but bounced back to capture the regular season title against Campbell University in the regular season finale. Head coach Marc Reeves, who was named the CAA Coach of the Year, said the win at Campbell was one of the more special moments of the season.

“I mean, the win at Campbell to secure the league is why you work so hard year round; For those countdown moments, the lift the trophy moments and the guys dumping me in Gatorade is always fun,” Reeves said.

Graduate student and co-captain Victor Stromsten also said the Campbell game was one of his favorite moments.

“We did not play a great game, but it was just heart and work ethic,” Stromsten said. “The feeling of everyone just dropping down to the floor when they blew the final whistle was a great moment for everyone. I’ll take that with me wherever I go next.”

Stromsten said he was especially proud of how the team bounced back from the series of losses in the middle of the season to secure a title.

“I was very frustrated at times — not getting the chances I wanted, not getting the opportunities that I would have loved to have had,” Stromsten said. “It can bring a lot of frustration, but the fact that we rallied, and at the end, on a personal note, being able to score the game winner against Northeastern, and then doing my last game against Campbell, it means everything. The fact that we went through a great start, a little rough patch, and then built our way out of it at the end meant a lot.”

Despite a regular season title, Elon fell to the eventual champions Hofstra University in the semifinals of the CAA Tournament. It was the fourth straight year of making the CAA Semifinals and the second regular season title in the last three seasons.

“I think we’re trying to build a consistency in our program, and that comes from having a cohesive culture that really values the people element and the development and the character aspect of our group,” Reeves said.

Stromsten said the lack of egos on the team helped set the season apart and led to their success.

“The entire team did really good at not putting themselves before the team,” Stromsten said. “It was really great to see that we were working as a unit rather than individuals trying to prove something.”

Reeves said he was glad that the team secured a regular season championship to cement the success of this season into history.

“It’s only us and Hofstra that end up with some tangible trophy, something that keeps this team in the history books,” Reeves said. “They’re a championship team at Elon forever. So I’m really pleased that this group were able to do it again.”

Runner up: Baseball

Going into the season, junior defender Rachel Buckle said she immediately noticed how invested was in the team succeeding. As Elon kept winning, she said the team’s all-in approach only continued to grow.

“What made this year memorable is that everyone was all-in and wanted to give 110% every day,” Buckle said. “Once we started seeing results, it only pushed us to keep doing that more.”

After a 3-9-5 record in 2023, expectations weren’t high for the Phoenix. They were ranked near the bottom of the standings but went on to start the season with a redhot 8-0-1 record. Elon finished with a 13- 4-1 record. In the CAA Tournament, the team won its first game against College of Charleston before losing to Stony Brook in the semifinals.

Buckle said it was fulfilling to be a part of a team that was able to turn things around in just one season. She listed the team’s work ethic and commitment to their program standards as primary reasons for their turnaround.

“It’s extremely rewarding,” Buckle said. “It means everything to stay consistent in our work, and what we believe in and how we play the game. We were all dedicated, and it shows that hard work and consistency does pay off.”

Buckle said one of her biggest takeaways from the season involved the relationships between players. She said while last year was difficult, it motivated the members from that team to improve the team chemistry.

“Although last year was difficult for us, we used that as motivation,” Buckle said. “It allowed us to form a really strong bond this year.”

Buckle said a big part of that was the friendships among the upperclassmen and freshman. She noted how the upperclassman went out of their way to be welcoming, which was appreciated by the team’s newcomers.

“I think that a big goal for us this year was to not make them feel like they should be scared of us,” Buckle said. “They’re justas much a part of the team as we are, and they deserve to feel included. We all got recruited to play here for a reason, and so we wanted to make it known that we went through the same thing as they did.”

For the 2025 season, Buckle said the team must maintain the same expectations they had going into last season. She particularly listed preparation as a major component, saying that anything could happen.

“The biggest thing from this season is to keep the standards high and hold each other accountable,” Buckle said. “I think our preparation is key whether it’s staying focused in film or stepping up when someone gets injured.”

She also said she hopes the team will continue to appreciate some of the fun moments during the season. Buckle believes it helped players become closer with one another.

“It’s important to have fun when you’re playing together,” Buckle said. “The funny moments at practice where we were laughing and spending time together all add up. We should take all of those small things that built up and carry them into next year.”

Runner up: Lacrosse

Club baseball reached the playoffs last year for the first time in program history, and club president senior Joey Generalis said he hopes to use that success as motivation for this season.

“We got a little bit of a taste of playoffs, and that’s something that really kind of sticks with us,” Generalis said. “I definitely want to get that taste again, and I definitely think we have the squad to do it.”

This spring, club baseball will face seven teams with 21 total games scheduled from February to April. Club baseball faced five opponents in the fall and ended the season with a 7-7 record. Generalis said they use the fall season to let newer members take the field.

“The fall season, it’s kind of more of experimentation instead of putting our nine guys, our nine best guys, out there to go win a baseball game,” Generalis said. “We’re just really doing anything in the fall that could possibly prepare us for the spring.”

Club social chair sophomore Ryan McCaskill-Schock echoed Generalis and said the team will work to make it even farther this year.

“This year we’re looking to build on that and then some because we feel like we have the guys to absolutely get there, and we will play our best baseball once we get there,” McCaskill-Schock said.

McCaskill-Schock joined the team his first year of college and said he appreciates the support from his teammates, both on and off the field.

“I was looking for some sort of brotherhood, some sort of camaraderie, that would always be there for me emotionally and physically whenever I needed them,” McCaskill-Schock said. “Being a part of club baseball, there’s no expectations, there’s no deadlines, there’s no rules. It’s really just a group of guys that really love each other and also love to play baseball.”

Runner up: Tennis

To open the 2024 season, Elon’s varsity soccer programs could not stop winning. Both went undefeated over the first few weeks of play, performing at a high level on offense and defense.

It was a scorching start to the teams’ campaign and an equally exciting time for many Elon fans, including for freshman Jack Torres.

“Coming to Elon, I was unsure about how our sports culture was going to be,” Torres said. “I love soccer. It was fun to get caught up in our success.”

The teams collectively won 16 games during the undefeated streak before the men’s team suffered its first loss to Hofstra on Sept. 28. The women’s team would remain undefeated until Oct. 3. The nonstop winning added an extra element to the viewing experience.

“Having a streak on the line each time was thrilling,” Torres said. “Even with it broken it was cool to watch.”

Although the unified unbeaten streak was eventually snapped, both teams played strong throughout the season. The women’s team finished with a ranking of third within the Coastal Athletic Association. The men’s team peaked at a ranking of No. 10 in the nation during the season.

The success did not go unnoticed. Lots of new fans found themselves watching Phoenix soccer for the first time, including freshman Michael Gallagher.

“I was never really into soccer that much,” Gallagher said. “But it definitely caught my attention when we started dominating. I went to way more games than I was expecting.”

Ultimately, both programs lost in the CAA Conference Championship tournament. Despite falling short, there is still lots of positivity.

“They had great seasons,” Gallagher said. “I’m looking forward to the future.”