CONWAY, S.C. – The Coastal Carolina women's lacrosse team fell 17-14 to the Liberty Flames on Thursday afternoon in Brooks Stadium on the campus of Coastal Carolina University. With the loss, the Chanticleers dropped to 7-4 overall and 1-1 in ASUN action, while the Flames improved to 6-5 on the season and 2-0 in league play with the win.
 
CCU's Kayla Downey (4 goals, 2 assists) and Sydney McClure (4 goals) led the Chants offense, while Monica Manley (2 goals), Avery McIlwaine (1 goal, 2 assists), Brigid Cardillo (1 goal, 1 assist), Maddie Bates (1 goal), and Abi George (1 goal) chipped in the scoring. Avery Snyder joined in on the scoring with four assists.
 
For Liberty, nine different players found the back of the net, led by multiple goals by Cami Merkel (5 goals), Mackenzie Lehman (3 goals), Kelly Scott (2 goals), and Lizzy Ferguson (2 goals, 1 assist), while Andrea Colavito, Olivia Glaze, Tori Banks, and Jordan Sheive added one goal each.
 
The loss for the Chants fell to Claire Martell, as the starting goalie made two saves on 10 shot attempts over 13 minutes between the pipes. Sophomore Charlotte Sadler finished out the remaining 47 minutes in goal and made five saves on 25 shots.
 
The win went to the Flames' starter Taylor Gallerello, who allowed 14 goals and made four saves in just 60 minutes of action.
 
Liberty opened the contest with the first goal of the match, as Sheive beat the Chanticleers' defense on a free-position goal for the 1-0 lead. The Chants responded with a free-position goal of their own as McClure evened the score at 1-1 with just under 11 minutes remaining in the first quarter.
 
However, the Flames exploded with a 7-0 burst to take a commanding 8-1 advantage at the end of the first period.
 
Despite the large deficit, CCU's Downey began the second-quarter scoring with her first goal of the day cutting the lead to 8-2 only to see Liberty respond with a goal by Scott. With less than 20 seconds expiring off the game clock, the Chanticleers' George and McIlwaine filled the back of the net to cut the Flames' lead to 9-4.
 
Liberty answered with two quick goals of its own as Merkel needed just under 30 seconds to push the Flames' lead to seven goals at 11-4 with 4:53, while Colavito pushed the LU lead to 12-4 with 2:25 remaining until the halftime break.
 
With 1:43 remaining in the first half, CCU cut the lead to 12-5 as Bates sparked the Chanticleers' offense with her second goal of the season, which was followed quickly by Downey and Cardillo teaming up with back-to-back goals as Coastal trailed 12-7. CCU's McClure closed the first-half scoring with five seconds left on the game clock to cut the Women in Teal's deficit to four goals at 12-8 at the halftime break.
 
In the third quarter, the defenses took over as just three goals were tallied in the 15 minutes of action. Liberty opened the second-half scoring as Lehman pushed the visitor's advantage to 13-8 with 9:47 left on the game clock. CCU's Downey recorded her second tally of the day to keep the Chants hopeful for the comeback to trail 13-9. Lehman responded with her second goal of the third quarter to push the Flames' lead back out to five at 14-9.
 
Coastal started the scoring early in the fourth quarter, as Downey needed just 56 seconds to pull Coastal to within four at 14-10. However, Liberty pushed its lead to 15-10 with Banks' lone tally just to see McClure pull the Chants to 15-10 with 8:33 remaining in regulation.
 
With 4:02 left to play, the Flames' Merkel scored her fourth goal of the day to push LU's advantage at five goal at 16-11, only to see CCU's McClure and Manley pull the Chants to within three goals at 16-13 with back-to-back goals and using just 13 seconds ticking off the game clock.
 
Liberty's Merkel closed the scoring for the Flames with 29 seconds to extend LU's lead to 17-13. Coastal Carolina's Manley tallied her second goal of the day for the final margin of 17-14.
 
Coastal will return to action on Friday, April 7, as the Chants will host Delaware State to continue in ASUN Conference action. The opening draws is scheduled for 11 a.m. ET, respectively.
 
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.