JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The No. 3 seeded Coastal Carolina women's lacrosse team fell 17-5 to the No. 2 seeded Jacksonville Dolphins in the semifinals of the 2023 ASUN Women's Lacrosse Championship in Jacksonville, Fla., on Wednesday afternoon. With the loss, the Chants finished the season 12-7 overall, while the Dolphins improved to 11-7 and advance to the championship game on Saturday, May 6.
 
Coastal's Kayla Downey (2 goals) became the program's all-time single-season goal scorer with her 56th goal of the year to lead the Chanticleers offense. Her 56th goal surpassed the previous record of 55 goals by Haley Alexander in 2019.
 
Joining Downey in scoring were Brigid Cardillo, Alyson Mascolo, and Sydney McClure, who all tallied one goal each.
 
Defensively, Claire Martell made a season-high 13 stops in the cage while allowing 17 goals. The defense forced just nine turnovers, with Marissa Munson, Claudia Kelly, Abi George, and Avery McIlwaine each causing one turnover apiece, while Jordan Gertz scooped a team-high three groundballs.
 
Jacksonville saw a trio of players record hat tricks, as Sarah Elms, Lauren Craft, and Brianna Samuels each filled the net three times, while Molly Brock and Lauren Ellis tallied two goals each. Grace Hobson finished with five assists to lead the Dolphins, while Kaila Stasulli had a team-high five draw control wins.
 
For the Dolphins' defense, Addy Tysdal stopped eight shots and allowed just three goals, while fellow goalie Paige Pagano allowed two scores in the second half. Hailey Blachly helped the offense get the possession by causing two turnovers, while Hobson, Ellis, and Craft scooped up two groundballs apiece.
 
In the opening stanza, the host Dolphins opened the scoring with 7-0 burst, highlighted by Craft's first goal of the day and capped off by back-to-back goals by Samuels. CCU's Mascolo found the back of the net with 1:18 left to play in the first quarter to get the Chants on the scoreboard at 7-1. With just seconds on the game clock in the first period, Craft recorded Jacksonville's first hat trick to take an 8-1 lead at the end of the opening period.
 
The second quarter belonged to the host team as Jacksonville used more than seven minutes to start the running clock with a 10-goal advantage, on goals by Elms, Madeline Cloyd, and Ellis. With 3:20 remaining until the halftime intermission, the Dolphins' Ainsley Scruggs finished the first-half scoring to take a 12-1 lead at the break.
 
With just 1:25 expiring from the third quarter game clock, Jacksonville opened its lead to 12 goals at 13-1, as Ellis beat the CCU defense.
 
However, refusing to quit, the Women in Teal responded with their second tally of the day with Cardillo getting the unassisted score to trail 13-2.
 
Jacksonville pushed the lead to 14-2 on a woman-up goal by Brock with 8:27 left to play in the third period. With 4:48 on the game clock, Coastal's McClure added the third Chanticleer goal with the free-position goal, only to see the Dolphins' Samuels respond with the final goal of the third quarter to put the Dolphins in front at 15-3.
 
With 15 minutes left to play, Coastal would need the perfect fourth quarter for the win. CCU's Downey, the reigning 2023 ASUN Player of the Year, started the fourth-period scoring with 8:47 left in regulation to trail 15-4. Jacksonville increased its lead back to 12 at 16-4 on Elms' hat-trick goal.
 
Despite the 12-goal deficit, Coastal's Downey claimed the single-season goals record with the final Chanticleer goal of the day to trail 16-5 with 5:06 left to play. The Dolphins added a final score as Samantha Ednie scored her first goal of the season for the final margin of 17-5, as Jacksonville advanced to the finals of the 2023 ASUN Women's Lacrosse Championship.
 
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.