RICHMOND, Va. – The Coastal Carolina women's lacrosse team fell 11-7 to the VCU Rams in Richmond, Va. on Wednesday afternoon. With the loss, the Chanticleers dropped to 2-3 on the year, while the Rams improved to 3-2 on the season with the win.
Coastal had seven different Chants notch a goal on the day as
Hannah Demis,
Avery McIlwaine,
Avery Snyder,
Kayla Downey,
Abi George,
Megan Bozzi, and
Riley Glackin all found the back of the net once, while Bozzi and Demis each picked up one assist apiece. The Rams were led by Meghan McLaughlin with three goals, while Kelsey McDonnell and Juliana George filled the net up twice each. Also, scoring one goal each for VCU were Mia George, Morgan Reed, Autumn Kash, and Abby Osmeyer.
VCU scored the first five goals of the match while holding the Chants scoreless in the opening 15 minutes of play. McLaughlin started the scoring at the 10:42 with her third goal of the season. With almost five minutes expiring from the game clock, Reed recorded her third goal of the year to put the host team up 2-0. McDonnell found the back of the net to put the Rams up 3-0 with 4:30 remaining in the first quarter before McLaughlin closed the first period scoring with her second goal of the day with the woman-up goal with 36 seconds remaining until the first break.
VCU's McDonnell opened the second period with her second goal of the day for the 6-0 advantage for the host team. Coastal's Demis broke the seal on the net for the Chants with 9:34 to go in the second quarter, while McIlwaine followed just 28 seconds later with the second CCU goal to cut the Rams lead to 6-2. Kash finished the first-half scoring for VCU with her second goal of the year to put the Rams up 7-2, yet the Chanticleers refused to quit as Downey cut the lead to four goals at 7-3 off the assist from Bozzi with 3:13 remaining in the first half.
Coastal opened the second half scoring as Snyder needed just 2:07 into the third quarter to pull CCU to within three at 7-4. The Rams' McLaughlin and Osmeyer halted the CCU momentum with back-to-back goals to push the lead to 9-4 for the host team before Coastal's next goal. With 7:09 remaining in the third period, George filled the net off an assist from teammate Demis. VCU's Juliana George pushed the lead back to five at 10-5 with 43 seconds remaining in the third quarter.
Coastal outscored the Rams in the final period 2-1 but was unable to get any closer than the final margin of 11-7. CCU's Bozzi recorded her lone goal of the day on a free position shot, while Glackin followed 55 seconds later with her tally to put the score at 11-7. Neither team would score over the final eight minutes of play to leave the final score at 11-7.
Coastal Carolina will return to action in a neutral site matchup against Lehigh on Friday, March 11. The contest was originally scheduled to take place at USA Lacrosse Headquarters in Glencoe, Md. but has since been moved to Homewood Field on the campus of Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Md. The opening draw is scheduled for 10:30 a.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.
