JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Coastal Carolina's Kayla Downey, the reigning ASUN Player of the Year, led seven Chanticleers with multiple goals in the 17-11 first-round win over the Lindenwood Lions in the 2023 ASUN Women's Lacrosse Championship in Jacksonville, Fla., on Wednesday afternoon. With the win, the Chants improved to 12-6 overall, while the Lions finished the season at 8-10 with the loss.
 
Coastal's Downey recorded the hat trick with three goals on the day and was joined in multiple goals by Abi George, Alyson Mascolo, Bethany Bruck, Avery Snyder, Sydney McClure, and Monica Manley, who all tallied two goals each. Downey also led the Chants with two of the team's five assists while George, Manley, and Riley Glackin (1goal, 1 assist) added one assist each.
 
Defensively, Claire Martell made 11 stops in the cage while allowing 11 goals. The defense forced just nine turnovers, with Marissa Munson, Ellie Roser, Sydney Tornetta, and Gabrielle Beckett each causing one turnover apiece, while Roser scooped a team-high three groundballs
 
Lindenwood was paced by Logann Eldredge with five goals, while Lindsey Smith, Natalie Gane, Isabella Jahkhah, Isabella Rulapaugh, Sara Grieco, and Elisabeth Ralph each found the back of the net once.
 
For the Lions' defense, Elanor Kast stopped nine shots but allowed 17 goals. Zoe Totland and Ralph helped the offense get the possession by scooping up two groundballs apiece, while the Lions' defense forced 12 Coastal turnovers.
 
In the opening quarter, CCU opened the game with a 4-0 burst, as Downey put the No. 3 seeded Chanticleers in front at 1-0 with just 1:26 expiring off the game clock. Coastal needed less than four minutes to push its lead to 3-0 as Mascolo (12:36), Downey (11:42), and George (9:41) filled the back of the net to force the Lions to call their first timeout.
 
Lindenwood's Eldredge cut the Chants' lead to 4-1 with 7:08 remaining to play in the first period before the Chanticleers' McClure increased the lead to four at 5-1 with 2:46 remaining on the game clock. With time running out in the opening stanza, the Lions closed out the first-quarter scoring as Ralph cut the CCU lead to three at 5-2.
 
To start the second period, Lindenwood's Eldredge and Gane pulled the Lions to within one at 5-4 with 9:42 left until the halftime intermission. Coastal tallied three straight goals to open its lead to 8-4, sparked by a Mascolo goal off a spin move and capped off by McClure's second goal of the half.
 
However, the Lions' Eldredge recorded the first-half hat trick with three minutes left to trail 8-5, only to see George put the Chanticleers back in front by four at 9-5 for the halftime margin.
 
Coastal opened the third quarter with a 4-1 surge, which saw Snyder and Downey sandwich a Lindenwood goal and topped off by lone goals by Beckett and Glackin for the 13-6 advantage. The Lions' Smith looked to spark the offense and cut the deficit to six with 6:10 left on the game clock. CCU's Snyder wrapped up the third-period scoring with a free-position goal to push the Chants' lead to 14-7 at the close of the third quarter.
 
With 15 minutes left to play, Coastal extended its advantage to 15-7 as Manley beat the defense off the assist from Glackin.
 
After Lindenwood cut the lead to 15-8 on a Grieco goal with 9:27 left in regulation, CCU's Bruck doubled up the Lions score at 16-8 with her first tally of the day.
 
With 6:35 left to play, Rulapaugh and Eldredge pulled Lindenwood to within six at 16-10 with back-to-back goals. The Chants' Bruck increased the lead to 17-10 with 2:48 remaining on the game clock off the assist from Downey. As the clock wound down on the Lions, Eldredge scored the final goal of the game with 23 seconds left for the final margin of 17-11.
 
With the win, Coastal will face off against host Jacksonville in the 2023 ASUN Women's Lacrosse Championship on Thursday, May 4 with the opening draw scheduled for 4 p.m. 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.