CONWAY, S.C. – Avery McIlwaine (4 goals, 2 assists) led Coastal Carolina women's lacrosse with six points, as the Chanticleers dropped a back-and-forth contest 16-15 with the Elon Phoenix on Sunday afternoon in Conway, S.C. With the loss, CCU dropped to 1-3 on the young season, while the Phoenix improved to 3-2 with the win.
 
Coastal's McIlwaine recorded her first hat trick of the season and was aided by teammates Kayla Downey (3 goals, 2 assists) and Alyson Mascolo (3 goals), who also tallied their first hat tricks of the year. Monica Manley scored a pair of goals, while Avery Snyder, Sydney McClure, and Riley Glackin each found the back of the net once for the Chanticleers.
 
Defensively, Claire Martell played all 60 minutes in goal, making nine stops while facing 30 shots on the day. Lily Wallace helped the defense get the offense the ball back by causing two turnovers and Gabrielle Beckett scooped up a pair of groundballs.
 
Elon's offense matched the Chants as Camryn Levin (4 goals), Cierra Hopson (3 goals, 5 assists), and Catherine Merritt (3 goals) all recorded hat tricks for the visitors. Sammy Fisher led the team with seven draw controls, while Julia Dalmass added four wins at the draw.
 
The Phoenix's Hopson aided the defense in getting the ball back by causing a pair of turnovers, while Elon's Chloe Herghelegiu made six saves and allowed nine goals in 39 minutes between the pipes.
 
Elon tallied the first goal of the contest as Hopson found Kaley Ehnow as time was winding down in the 90-second possession clock to take an early 1-0 lead in the opening quarter. Coastal's McIlwaine countered with her fifth goal of the year to even the match at 1-1 with 11:08 remaining on the game clock.
 
However, the visitors from Elon, N.C., answered with a pair of goals to take the lead at 3-1 just before CCU answered with two quick goals by Mascolo and Glackin to even the score up at 3-3. The Phoenix scored the final goal of the first quarter with 5:22 remaining as Levin's free position shot found the back of the net to take a 4-3 advantage.
 
The Chanticleers went in front for the first time with three straight goals to open the second period, as Manley sandwiched McIlwaine's second goal with a pair of goals, both of which were assisted by Downey. Despite leading for the first time in the match, Coastal was outscored 4-1 in the second quarter to trail 8-7 at the halftime intermission.
 
In the third quarter, Coastal refused to go away and evened the score twice, once on a goal by Mascolo and again when Downey followed an Elon goal to knot the contest at 9-9 with 9:32 remaining on the game clock. The Phoenix fired off three quick goals to take their largest lead of the game at 12-9.
 
Before the third period was over, Coastal Carolina answered with two goals in 30 seconds as Snyder and McIlwaine cut the Elon lead to one at 12-11.
 
The final 15 minutes of action was tight throughout, as the two teams saw three ties and traded the first five goals. The Phoenix retook the lead with their final two goals as Merritt and Levin were able to beat the Chanticleer goalkeeper for the 16-14 advantage.
 
With time left in the match, Coastal cut the deficit to one at 16-15 as Downey filled the back of the net for her fifth goal of the season with 26 seconds remaining in regulation.
 
Time would run out on the Chants before they could notch the tying goal and allowed Elon to pick up the one-goal win.
 
The Chanticleers will return to action on Saturday, March 4, as Coastal Carolina will host VCU inside Brooks Stadium on the campus of Coastal Carolina University. The opening draw is scheduled for noon 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.