MEN'S SOCCER HEADS TO ELON, REDONDO BIG SOUTH DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF WEEK

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- With his defensive work on one of the league's top players in Radford's 2-1 win over Campbell on Saturday night, sophomore midfielder Dario Redondo was named Big South Defensive Player of the Week by the league office on Tuesday.

Redondo was tasked with staying on Campbell midfielder Mitchel Cardenas, who had points in all of the wins and ties this season for the Camels.   Cardenas was Campbell's leader and among the league's scoring leaders entering Saturday's match.

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Radford at Elon - Tuesday, 7:00 p.m. | LIVE STATS

Following its 2-1 Big South-opening win over Campbell on Saturday, Radford steps out of league play and begins a stretch of three straight matches away from home on Tuesday night at Elon.

“Elon is an exceptionally talented and well-coached team,” head coach Marc Reeves said. “They are a fast-paced and quality attacking group that we will have to prepare and play well to compete against.”

HIGHLANDER NOTES

Radford (3-2-2) turned back a hot Campbell side on Saturday night, riding two strikes from Bernardo Ulmo in the league opener for both teams.

With the goals, Ulmo has a career-best five tallies, which tops his 2010 Big South All-Freshman season total of four. He ranks third in the conference this season in scoring.

Strong defense keyed the Highlanders in the match – Radford built its lead while holding a 6-0 shot advantage to start the second half.   In particular, back line play was key as Redondo and Jamie Summers combined to limit the efforts of one of the league's top players, Mitchell Cardenas. The Camels only had two shots on frame over 90 minutes.

THE MATCHUP

The Highlanders and Phoenix (5-2) match up for the 15th year in a row, dating back to Elon's membership in the Big South (1999-2002) – Radford leads the series 9-6-1.

Elon won three straight matches against Radford before the Highlanders' 5-1 blitz in their home opener last season.   All five tallies, which came from 2011 seniors, came in the second half.   Ryan Taylor had six saves in the match.

Behind impressive play from Chris Thomas, the Phoenix have won five of their last six matches, including a 2-0 home win over No. 6-ranked and 2011 College Cup team Charlotte on Saturday night. Thomas, who ranks among the nation's scoring leaders, netted four goals in two wins last week en route to national player of the week honors from College Soccer News.

“This is a great non-conference game as they play a fantastic schedule and just beat a highly ranked opponent,” Reeves said. “We know it will be a very tough game but hope these sort of challenges will make us a better team.”

UP NEXT

Radford returns to league play on Saturday night with a 7 p.m. kickoff at Gardner-Webb.

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