BALTIMORE, Md. – The Coastal Carolina women's lacrosse team fell 11-8 to Lehigh in a neutral site matchup in Baltimore, Md. on Friday afternoon on the campus of Johns Hopkins University. With the loss, the Chanticleers dropped to 2-4 on the season, while the Mountain Hawks improved to 3-3 on the year with the win.
 
CCU's offense was led by Lauren Cremen and Megan Bozzi as both attackers finished with three goals for the hat trick, while Avery McIlwaine and Kayla Downey had one goal apiece. The Chanticleers' Hannah Demis and Avery Snyder recorded two assists and one assist, respectively. Lehigh saw Olivia Memeger (4 goals, 2 assists) and Emma Eberhardt (3 goals, 3 aassits) tally six points each, while Cassie Marte, Katia Carnevale, and Nora Giordano finished with two goals, one goal, and one goal, respectively.
 
Defensively, CCU's Claire Martell made nine saves while facing 28 shots. The redshirt sophomore goalkeeper also scooped up three ground balls, while Lehigh's Hayley Hunt made 10 saves while facing 20 shots.
 
In the opening quarter, the Mountain Hawks jumped out to a 3-0 advantage on goals by Giordano and Memeger (2 goals) before Coastal's Cremen scored her eighth goal of the season and first of the day off the assist from Snyder to cut into the Lehigh lead at 3-1. Both squads attempted five shots with all 10 shots being on frame.
 
Lehigh scored twice more in the first six minutes of the second period as Eberhardt (11:10) scored her first goal of the day and Memeger (9:00) tallied the hat trick for the 5-1 Mountain Hawk lead. Coastal's Bozzi cut the lead to three at 5-2 with 4:29 left until halftime on her third goal of the season. Lehigh's Eberhardt recorded her second goal of the day with the woman-up opportunity for the 6-2 lead. The two teams traded goals in the final 2:15 in the first half as McIlwaine recorded her eighth goal of the year on a free-position attempt, while Lehigh's Carnevale finished the first-half scoring for the 7-3 Mountain Hawk lead.
 
The Mountain Hawks opened the second half scoring as Marte pushed the lead to 8-3 with 8:57 remaining in the third quarter. CCU's Cremen (7:36) and Downey (5:08) filled the back of the net to pull Coastal to within three at 8-5.
 
Lehigh recorded the first two goals of the final period as Eberhardt and Marte tallied goals to put the Mountain Hawks up 10-5 with 12 minutes left to play. Coastal's Cremen and Bozzi answered with a pair of goals to cut the Lehigh advantage to three at 10-7 before Memeger added her fourth goal of the day for the final goal for the Mountain Hawks. The Chanticleers' Bozzi found the back of the net to complete the scoring on the day with the free position attempt for the final tally at 11-8.
 
Overall, The Mountain Hawks fired 20 shots on goal compared to 18 for the Chants, while ground balls and draw controls were in favor of Lehigh at 11-10 and 12-11, respectively.
 
Coastal Carolina will return to action on Wednesday, March 16, as the Chanticleers will host William & Mary in their home opener at Brooks Stadium in Conway, S.C. The opening draw is scheduled for 1 p.m. ET.
 
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.