NORFOLK, Va. – Coastal Carolina outscored Old Dominion 22-3 over the final 17 minutes and used a 14-yard touchdown pass from Ethan Vasko to Sam Pinckney to knock off the Monarchs, 28-24, on Saturday night to earn its fourth consecutive victory.
Pinckney finished the game with seven catches for 69 yards and tied the FBS record of 54 consecutive games with a reception, which was set by Central Michigan's Bryan Anderson from 2006-09. Pinckney has a catch in all 22 games he has played at Coastal Carolina after catching a pass in his last 32 games at Georgia State.
Old Dominion took a 7-0 lead in the first quarter, but the Chants chipped away in the second quarter with a pair of Kade Hensley field goals as Coastal's defense held the Monarchs to just 60 yards in the period.
ODU stretched its lead its first drive of the second half with a 30-yard touchdown pass to make the score 14-6 with 10:45 to play in the third quarter. The Monarchs struck for another 30-yard touchdown pass with 2:02 left in the quarter to go up by 15, but Ethan Vasko answered two plays later with a 75-yard touchdown run pull the Chants back within one score at the 1:42 mark.
Trailing by eight in the fourth quarter, Coastal Carolina embarked on its longest drive of the night to that point as the Chants marched 78 yard in six plays. CJ Beasley capped the drive with a 17-yard touchdown run and Vasko took a handoff on the two-point conversion and stretched to the goal line to tie the game at 21-21 with 8:11 remaining in the game.
ODU regained the lead with 1:24 on a 38-yard field goal, but Coastal quickly drove into Monarch territory as Vasko hit Kyre Duplessis for 32 yards. After a pair of quarterback runs, Vasko lofted a pass into the corner for Pinckney, who came down with the ball to put Coastal ahead with 23 seconds to go.
The Chant defense kept ODU out of the end zone on the final possession to make Coastal Carolina bowl eligible for the fourth consecutive season.
Vasko finished 17-of-31 through the air for 180 yards and rushed 21 times for 170 yards in his first career start. CCU rushed 278 yards on the night, averaging 6.2 yards per carry.
Micheal Mason paced the defense with 12 tackles, including 2.5 tackles for loss and 1.0 sack. The Chants finished the game with 9.0 tackles for loss and 4.0 sacks as a unit.
Coastal Carolina returns to Brooks Stadium next Saturday for Military Appreciation Day against Texas State on ESPN+. Kickoff is scheduled for 3:30 p.m.
