JACKSONVILLE, FLA. – In a rematch of the two programs' meeting on Mar. 30, the Coastal Carolina women's lacrosse team (13-5, 5-1 ASUN) defeated No. 3 seed Lindenwood (13-5, 3-3 ASUN) today in a 13-11 victory over the Lions in the semifinals of the ASUN Conference Championship at Rock Stadium in Jacksonville, Fla.
Coastal struck first with two goals in rapid fire fashion from Brigid Cardillo, who was just named to her first All-Conference team, and Alyson Mascolo inside the first three minutes of the opening period. Leading scorer Sydney McClure and graduate midfielder Bethany Bruck continued the strong offensive start, extending the Coastal lead to four just after the 10-minute mark.
After the 4-0 run from Coastal to start the game, Lindenwood would respond with a 3-0 run of their own to draw within one with 2:42 to play in the first. Maddie Bates would get one back for the Chants on the stroke of the end of the first quarter, as the Chants would lead 5-3 after the opening 15 minutes.
McClure opened the scoring in the second quarter with her 40th goal of the season, continuing her career season, as she was named to the ASUN First Team All-Conference in the conference's release yesterday. Senior Avery Snyder restored CCU's two goal lead with a free position goal at the 4:18 mark of the second period. The Lions would respond with two more goals, one from Alissa Digiacinto and one from Andie McConnell to cut the lead to two. Coastal would score two more before the end of the half with recently announced ASUN Midfielder of the Year Avery McIlwaine and Cardillo scoring their first and second goals of the day, respectively, as the Chants would lead 9-5 at the halftime break.
CCU continued their scoring barrage early in the second half, as senior midfielder Monica Manley started off the third quarter with her first goal of the game. Nearly 10 minutes of gametime would come off the clock before the next score, as Lindenwood continued to answer each Coastal run, responding this time with a goal from Logann Eldredge just beyond the six-minute mark. The Chants would go on to score three more prior to the end of the third period with Freshman of the Year Evelyn Kitchin, junior transfer Ryan Bionda both getting on the scoreboard for the first time today, along with Cardillo completing her hat-trick with the final play of the quarter.
In a consolation effort, Lindenwood made a comeback effort in the late stages, outscoring the Chants 5-0 over the final 15 minutes of play. Despite each scoring run from the Lions, Coastal never trailed, using their early-game dominance to punch their ticket to ASUN title game with a 13-11 win, where they will earn a rematch against top-seeded Jacksonville on Saturday.
Coastal finished their semifinal win over Lindenwood with 13 goals on 30 total attempts, 19 on frame, along with two goals coming from free position shots. Cardillo led the way on the scoresheet with her fifth multi-goal effort of the season, scoring three goals to go with a pair of assists. McClure added two goals of her own, as Mascolo, Bates, Bruck, Snyder, Kitchin, McIlwaine, Bionda and Manley each added one score.
Goalkeeper Charlotte Sadler was a major factor on the defensive end, coming up with nine saves to add to her conference-leading 149 saves this season. Along with Sadler, Mascolo and First Team All-Conference defender Jordan Gertz picked up a pair of ground balls, making up for six of CCU's 10 total ground balls. As a team, the Chants forced Lindenwood into 16 turnovers and picked up 20 loose balls off draw controls.
With the win over Lindenwood, Coastal advances to the ASUN Championship, where they will face a rematch with the No. 1 seed Jacksonville Dolphins on Saturday, May 4 at 1 P.M. ET at Rock Stadium in Jacksonville, Fla.
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
