CONWAY, S.C. – The Coastal Carolina women's lacrosse team will open its 2022 season on the road at Davidson on Saturday, Feb. 19. The opening draw is scheduled for 11 a.m. ET at Richardson Stadium in Davidson, N.C.
Since the start of the program in 2013, CCU is 5-4 in season openers. Coastal has earned wins in the last three season openers.
The Davidson Wildcats enter play with a 1-0 record after earning a 12-8 win over High Point last Saturday, Feb. 12.
COASTAL vs. DAVIDSON HISTORY
The Wildcats hold a 2-1 advantage in the overall series with the Chanticleers earning the 12-7 win in the last meeting on March 7, 2021, at Brooks Stadium on the campus of Coastal Carolina University.
ABOUT COASTAL
The Chants return three of their top-four point scorers from last season's 10-7 squad in
Kayla Downey (35 goals, 31 assists, 66 points),
Megan Bozzi (28 goals, 9 assists, 37 points), and
Lauren Cremen (32 goals, 1 assist, 33 points) to mix in with transfer offensive standouts
Hannah Demis and
Avery McIlwaine. Demis was named the 2021 Southern Conference (SoCon) Offensive Player of the Year while scoring 79 points on 53 assists and 26 goals. McIlwaine added 24 points on 18 goals and six assists while joining Demis on the 2021 All-SoCon first team.
Defensively, Coastal returns goalkeeper
Claire Martell, a 2021 All-SoCon first-team member, along with
Jordan Gertz to mix in with transfer
Avery Whitehead, a graduate transfer from Furman. Martell set single-season CCU goalkeeper records with 17 games played and started, 145 saves, 10 wins, .449 save percentage, 43 ground balls, 10 caused turnovers, and 433 shots faced. Whitehead ranked in the top-five in the SoCon with an average of 1.00 caused turnovers per game last season and was a member of a defensive unit that held opponents to six goals or less five times. The 2021 SoCon Defensive Player of the Year ranked second on the team with 36 draws while picking up 21 ground balls and causing 16 turnovers while earning a spot on the 2021 All-SoCon first team. Gertz saw action in 11 matches and earned starts in nine. The Hanover, Pa. native, scooped up three ground balls and caused four caused turnovers.
ABOUT DAVIDSON
The Wildcats are led by Gianna New, who tallied four goals in the Wildcats' season-opening victory, along with Erin Cooke (2 goals, 3 assists), Emily Weld (2 goals), and Julianne Carey (1 goal, 2 assists). Carey won three draws to get the offensive attack started.
On the defensive end, Amanda Monahan picked up the win while facing 29 shots as the junior netminder made 11 saves. Eva Finn (3), Cooke (2), and Weld (2) helped stop the High Point offense from scoring by causing a combined seven turnovers, while Finn (3), Carey (2), and Jan DiGregorio (2) grabbed a combined 7-of-16 ground balls.
For complete coverage of CCU women's lacrosse, follow the Chants on social media @CoastalWLax (Twitter), facebook.com/CCUChanticleers (Facebook), @GoCCUSports (Instagram), or visit the official home of Coastal Carolina Athletics at www.GoCCUsports.com.
