JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The Coastal Carolina women's lacrosse team (10-5, 3-1 ASUN) closed out their four-game road trip today with an 9-7 loss against the Jacksonville Dolphins (6-8, 4-0 ASUN) at Rock Stadium in Jacksonville, Fla. 

The loss for the Chants snaps a seven-game winning streak, with their previous loss coming in a 24-20 result on the road against Mercer on Mar. 9. 

CCU conceded early, as the Dolphins took an early 1-0 lead with a goal from Maddie Herman inside of the opening four minutes of play. Seven minutes later, senior Avery Snyder would equalize for the Chants, scoring her fifth goal of the season to even the score at one. Coastal took the lead before the end of the first quarter with a goal from Avery McIlwaine to take a 2-1 advantage into the second quarter. 

Jacksonville scored two quick goals in the first five minutes of the second period to retake a 3-2 lead. Coastal would answer with a 2-0 run of their own with goals coming from junior Brigid Cardillo and McIlwaine's second, both with a woman advantage to take a 4-3 lead into halftime. 

The back-and-forth affair would continue into the second half, as Jacksonville would once again equalize to even the score at four apiece with a goal from Maggie Cuddy, her first of the year. Alyson Mascolo restored the CCU lead at the 13:27 mark of the third quarter, Coastal's third woman advantage goal of the afternoon. Both sides would trade the preceding two goals, as the Dolphins would find another equalizer from Mackenzie Boyle just before the six-minute mark, only for the Chants to retake the lead with a free position goal from Abi George. The final four minutes of the third quarter would remain scoreless, as Coastal took a 6-5 lead into the final 15 minutes. 

Jacksonville outscored the Chants 3-1 over the final 15 minutes of play. The Dolphins went on a 4-0 run in the fourth quarter to claim the largest lead of the game for either team with just under three minutes remaining in regulation. Cardillo scored her second goal of the day at the 1:32-minute mark to cut the lead to two, but it was not enough to stage a comeback, as Jacksonville went on to close out the game and remain unbeaten in ASUN Conference play with the 9-7 win at home. 

Coastal finished with seven goals on 24 total attempts, 14 on target, and two goals from free position attempts. McIlwaine and Cardillo led in the scoring department with both scoring a brace, while Mascolo, George and Snyder each added a goal to the scoring tally. With her two-goal performance today, McIlwaine improved her career goal tally to 99, as she will look to cross the 100-goal milestone in the final two games of the season at home. 

On the defensive end, the Chants picked up six ground balls and eight draw controls and forced four turnovers. McIlwaine led the Chants in scoring and in ground balls with three, tying a season-high. Goalkeeper Charlotte Sadler finished one save shy of a season-high, as she was forced to make 14 stops on 23 shots on target from Jacksonville.

Following the result in Jacksonville, the Chants will return home to face the Stetson Hatters on Sunday, Apr. 21, as they begin their final homestand of the 2024 season before the start of the ASUN Conference Championship on May 2. 

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 goccusports.com