CONWAY, S.C. – The Coastal Carolina women's soccer team shut out the Marshall Thundering Herd, 1-0, on Friday afternoon at the CCU Soccer Complex.
With the win, the Chants post a 6-4-6, 2-1-4 Sun Belt record while Marshall falls to 3-6-4, 1-3-3 Sun Belt.
The Chants looked to take an early lead in the seventh minute when Eleanor Ashton knocked the ball out wide to Tamlyn Parkes, who belted a shot on goal, but it ricocheted off the right post to hold the score at 0-0.
The Thundering Herd dominated the possession over the next 15 minutes, taking five shots and four corner kicks to put Coastal under pressure but the Chants held strong to keep the score at 0-0.
In the 23rd minute, CCU broke through to put the first goal on the scoreboard when Madison Micheletti slotted the ball through to Ashton. The freshman then smashed the ball into the bottom left corner to extend her scoring streak to five matches and put Coastal up 1-0.
The Thundering Herd fired two shots in the remaining 22 minutes of the half, but both flew off target to end the frame at 1-0.
Marshall threatened the Chants in the 62nd minute when Bailey Fisher cracked a long-distance shot to force a diving save from the outstretched hand of Coastal keeper Aris Lamanna to preserve Coastal's 1-0 lead.
The Thundering Herd continued to press the Chants when Ami Komori rattled the crossbar in the 63rd minute and fired two more shots just minutes later, but Coastal took care of the danger to hold the score at 1-0.
Junior Micheletti looked to extend CCU's lead in the 69th minute when she intercepted a pass in the Thundering Herd's defensive third, but she was taken down outside the box to award the Chants with a free kick attempt. Parkes then stepped up and whipped the ball over the wall, but couldn't make it past the Marshall keeper to keep the score at 1-0.
In the remaining 20 minutes of the match, the Thundering Herd outshot Coastal 5-1, but they could not penetrate the CCU backline to allow the Chants to secure their second Sun Belt Conference victory.
"Proud of the girls today. It wasn't our best performance by any means and full credit to Marshall for making it incredibly difficult for us. However, although things were not going our way, we still found a way and that's a sign of real progress for us. The resilience and togetherness this team has is what got us over the line tonight. Quite often that goes further than any tactics can," stated head coach Jo Chubb.
"We have to be able to recover and regroup before a very tough final game on the road this coming week. Delighted to then be able to finish the regular season at home in front of our fans. Chants up!"
The Chanticleers will hit the road to take on ULM in Monroe, La., on Oct. 23 at 7 p.m. ET.
For complete coverage of CCU women's soccer, follow the Chants on social media @CoastalWSoccer (X), facebook.com/CCUChanticleers (Facebook), @GoCCUSports (Instagram), or visit the official home of Coastal Carolina Athletics at goccusports.com
