CONWAY, S.C. – The Coastal Carolina women's lacrosse team will host the Iona Gaels on Sunday, March 12, at Brooks Stadium on the campus of Coastal Carolina University. The opening draw is scheduled for noon ET in Conway, S.C.
Coastal enters the contest at 3-2 overall after giving the Boston Terriers their first loss of the season at 13-9 last Tuesday, while the Gaels enter play at 6-1 on the year.
ASUN WOMEN'S LACROSSE DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
CCU's goalkeeper
Claire Martell was tabbed the ASUN Defensive Player of the Week for her performance versus the VCU Rams last Saturday. The Verbank, N.Y., native recorded nine stops while facing 23 shots for a 56.3 save percentage. Martell allowed just seven goals for the match, including holding the Rams scoreless in the third quarter to snap a two-game skid on the season.
COASTAL vs. IONA HISTORY
The Chanticleers and Iona will be meeting for the first time. The Gaels are the second of six opponents the Chants will face for the first time this season.
ABOUT COASTAL
The CCU offense is led by
Kayla Downey (13 goals, 7 assists) with 20 points, while
Avery McIlwaine (13 goals, 2 assists),
Hope Steuerwald (11 goals),
Avery Snyder (2 goals, 9 assists) are close behind with 15, 11, and 11 points, respectively. The offense is ignited by
Devin Rybacki and McIlwaine, as the duo has won 17 and 16 draw controls each.
Defensively, the Chants are anchored by their starting goalkeeper Martell, who has started all five contests. The redshirt junior goalie has stopped 38 shots and allowed 41 goals in almost 250 minutes in the cage on the season.
Claudia Kelly has forced seven turnovers and grabbed six groundballs to help return possession back to the offense.
ABOUT IONA
Iona is led by Micaela FitzPatrick (17 goals, 16 assists) with 33 points, while Kira Varada (22 goals, 7 assists), Amber Brewster (17 goals, 1 assist), Alexa Maggiacomo (6 goals, 8 assists), and Emily Stewart (12 goals) have added double-digit points. Varada often gets the offense started by winning 40 of the 105 Gael draw controls to lead the team.
Defensively, Iona's goalie Sofia Votto has started in all seven contests having allowed 57 goals and made 58 saves in the 149 shots faced. Varada leads the team with 27 caused turnovers, while scooping up a team-high 29 groundballs.
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.
