NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The Coastal Carolina women's lacrosse team fell to the Vanderbilt Commodores 13-11 on Sunday afternoon in Nashville, Tenn. With the loss, the Chanticleers fall to 4-5 on the year, while Vandy improved to 7-3 with the win.
Coastal was led by
Lauren Cremen,
Avery Snyder, and
Kayla Downey, as all three Chants tallied two goals each, while
Megan Bozzi,
Hannah Close,
Avery McIlwaine,
Abi George, and
Devin Rybacki found the back of the net once. The Commodores got tallies from Karlie Bucci (3 goals), Callie Sundin (2 goals), and Ellie Hilsabeck (2 goals) to spark the come-from-behind win for the home team.
Defensively, CCU's netminder
Claire Martell faced 40 shots and made 13 saves. On the other end of the field, Paige Gunning allowed 11 goals while stopping seven of the Chants' shots on frame.
The Chanticleers controlled the opening draw, raced down the field, and forced a Vandy foul. McIlwaine put Coastal on the scoreboard first by beating the Commodore goalkeeper on a free-position goal. Vanderbilt answered with just 19 seconds expiring from the game clock to even the contest at 1-1 as Paige Finneran fired a shot from point-blank range off the assist from Gabby Fornia. The Chants scored back-to-back goals to take a 3-1 advantage as Snyder tallied her first goal of the match on a free-position goal followed by George filling the net off the assist from McIlwaine. Vandy's Fornia closed the first-quarter scoring with just under two minutes remaining in the period to cut the CCU lead to 3-2.
Coastal took a two-goal advantage as Bozzi found Rybacki cutting to the goal with 12:47 remaining in the first half. The Commodores answered with just 1:01 expiring from the game clock to cut the Coastal lead back to one at 4-3. The Chanticleers closed out the first half with a 6-3 advantage, Bozzi finished off the pass from McIlwaine with six minutes remaining in the half, while Downey hit on an unassisted goal for the halftime tally of 6-3.
The third quarter saw both teams play even, as each team tallied four goals, with the Chants maintaining the three-goal advantage at 10-7. CCU's Cremen ended a two-goal run with 9:04 left, while Snyder and Close answered with back-to-back goals to push the Coastal lead to 9-6. The Chants ended the third quarter scoring with Cremen filing the back of the net for her second tally of the day.
The final period saw the home team pick up its effort and outscore the visitors 6-1 to take control of the contest. Vanderbilt recorded the first four goals as Bri Gross, Bucci, Sundin, and Hilsabeck all scored to put the Commodores up 11-10 with 7:50 remaining in regulation. Downey recorded her second goal of the match to even the contest up at 11-11 with 5:15 left to play. With 2:33 left to play Bucci recorded the game-winner and the only hat-trick of the game.
Despite being outshot 40-26, Coastal led for all but the final nine minutes and three seconds. The Chants turned the ball over 19 times compared to 9 for Vanderbilt. The Chanticleers controlled the draw by winning 16 -12 over the Commodores.
Coastal will return to action at home on Friday, April 1, as the Chants will host Jacksonville to open ASUN play. 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.
