CONWAY, S.C. – Avery McIlwaine led three Coastal Carolina women's lacrosse players with hat tricks as the Chanticleers knocked off the Vanderbilt Commodores 17-13 in Conway, S.C., on Wednesday afternoon. With the win, Coastal improved to 9-4 on the year, while Vandy dropped to 3-10 overall with the loss.
 
McIlwaine led the Chants offense with five goals, while teammates Kayla Downey and Monica Manley chipped in with three goals each. Sydney McClure (2 goals, 1 assist) added multiple goals, while Brigid Cardillo, Alyson Mascolo, Avery Snyder, and Sydney Tornetta all found the back of the net once.
 
Defensively, the Chanticleers forced 14 Commodore turnovers, with Abi George and Ellie Roser leading the way with two caused turnovers. In goal for Coastal, Charlotte Sadler played the final 30 minutes to make five of CCU's 14 saves and allowed just two second-half goals to pick up her first career win. Roser scooped a team-high two groundballs to lead the Chants.
 
Vanderbilt had five players tally two goals each in Josie Ward, Kayla Rieu, Paige Finneran, Bri Gross, and Molly Finlay, while Cate Bradley, Lila Huddles, and Nancy Halleron scored one goal each.
 
The Commodores' Paige Gunning allowed 12 goals while making six saves as Vanderbilt won the draw control battle 20-13, with Rieu (7 draws) and Megan Mangines (5 draws) combining for 12 of the team's 20 draw controls.
 
In the opening quarter, Vandy needed just 37 seconds to take a 1-0 lead as Finneran found an opening in the home team's defense. Coastal responded with the equalizing goal when McIlwaine evened the game at 1-1 with 12:28 remaining on the game clock. CCU's Downey tallied her 41st goal of the year from the assist by McClure, as the Chants took their first lead at 2-1 with 11:14 remaining in the opening stanza.
 
However, the Chants lead was short-lived as the Commodores' Finlay and Rieu fired off two quick shots to retake the lead at 3-2. Coastal answered with a pair of goals by Snyder and McIlwaine to retake the lead at 4-3. With 4:16 left in the first period, Gross pulled Vandy even at 4-4, only to see the Chants retake the lead on Manley's first goal of the game. Vanderbilt closed the opening quarter with a 3-0 run to take a 7-5 lead.
 
The Commodores added two more goals early in the second quarter to lead 9-5 with 11:21 left until the halftime intermission. Despite trailing by four goals, the Chanticleers' Downey and Cardillo cut the deficit in half at 9-7 with 7:10 left to play. However, Vandy needed just 12 seconds to push its lead back to three at 10-7. The two teams traded goals in the final three minutes of action, with Coastal's McIlwaine recording the first-half hat trick to trail 11-8 at the halftime break.
 
The second half belonged to the Chanticleers, as Mascolo opened the scoring with the free-position goal and was followed by Manley pulling CCU to within one at 11-10 with 11:16 remaining in the third period. With just under eight minutes left on the game clock, Coastal knotted the game at 11-11 on Tornetta's fourth goal of the year.
 
As time was running down in the third period, CCU retook a brief lead at 12-11 as McClure was able to beat the Vandy defense, only to see the Commodores even it up at 12-12 with nine seconds left in the third quarter.
 
Just like the previous period, the fourth quarter belonged to the Chants as McIlwaine tallied back-to-back goals with just 1:39 expiring off the game clock to take a lead that they would not relinquish at 14-12. With 9:10 left in the contest, Coastal's Manley recorded the hattrick from a free-position goal to increase the Women in Teal's advantage to 15-12.
 
CCU's McClure (7:00) and Downey (4:31) capped the home team's scoring to give the Chants a 17-12 advantage. Despite the game being in hand, Vanderbilt's Rieu added a free-position goal for the final margin at 17-13 with 24 seconds left to play.
 
Coastal will return to action on Sunday, April 16, as the Chants will travel to St. Charles, Mo., to take on ASUN newcomer Lindenwood in the first of three road contests before returning home to wrap up the season against another conference newcomer Queen's on April 29.
 
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.