JACKSONVILLE, FLA. – Coastal Carolina women's lacrosse team (14-5, 5-1 ASUN) won its first conference title in program history today in a 10-9 win over the top-seeded Jacksonville Dolphins (9-9, 6-0 ASUN) in the ASUN Championship at Rock Stadium in Jacksonville, Fla.
On Thursday, the Chants defeated the No. 3 seed Lindenwood Lions in a 13-11 win in the semifinals to advance to today's conference title game. CCU completed the season sweep of the Lions, despite being outscored 5-0 over the game's final 15 minutes, as junior attacker and ASUN All-Conference Second Team Selection Brigid Cardillo claimed her fifth multi-goal outing of the season with a hat-trick to lead the Chants past the Lions.
Just as they did against Lindenwood, Coastal struck first inside of the first three minutes of play with a goal from First Team All-Conference attacker and top goalscorer Sydney McClure, her 41st of the season. Jacksonville would equalize less than two minutes later with a goal from Ainsley Scruggs to even the score at one. The Chants put three more goals on the board prior to the end of the first quarter with Avery McIlwaine restoring the lead and later a pair of goals from Abi George and Monica Manley, as CCU led 4-1 after the opening 15 minutes.
In the second quarter, the Chants were held scoreless until the 1:55-minute mark with a goal by Alyson Mascolo to reclaim a 5-4 lead. The Dolphins would equalize for the third time of the first half, scoring with just a minute left until the half with a goal from Jenna Peed to tie the game at five. The score would remain at 5-5 going into the halftime break.
Jacksonville earned their first lead of the game with a goal just 45 seconds into the second half, taking a 6-5 lead. McIlwaine scored the Chants' first equalizer of the afternoon with her 32nd goal of the season, and her second of the game to tie the score at six. Off a turnover from the Dolphins, ASUN Freshman of the Year Evelyn Kitchin put the Chants back in front with her 12th of the year with five minutes to play in the third period. Mascolo would double that lead with 43 seconds until the third quarter's final whistle, putting the Chants back up by two. Jacksonville would get one back in the dying moments of the period to cut the lead in half heading into the final frame.
CCU opened the final period with a pair of goals from Manley, one from a free position attempt and one from open play, assisted by McClure, to put the Chants up by three with eight and a half minutes remaining in regulation. Jacksonville would once again cut the lead to one with 1:42 to play with Lauren Ellis and Brianna Samuels scoring their second and third goals of the game, respectively. Coastal would hold on to their one-goal lead over the final minute and a half of regulation to secure the program's first ever conference title and their first berth to the NCAA Tournament.
Similarly to their first meeting with Jacksonville on Apr. 18, the Chants were forced into a defensive battle with the ASUN's top seed, as Goalkeeper Charlotte Sadler came up big with nine huge saves from the Dolphins' 18 close-quarter attempts.
Offensively, CCU scored a precise 10 goals on 15 shots on target with one of Manley's three goals coming off a free position attempt. Manley led Coastal on the scoresheet, claiming her seventh hat-trick of the season. Mascolo and McIlwaine added a brace, as McClure, Kitchin and George each added one to their season tallies.
Sadler, Claudia Kelly, Manley, Avery Snyder and Sydney Tornetta were all named to the All-Tournament team, with Tornetta also being named as the ASUN Championship MVP.
In championship fashion, today's win also marks the 100th of Head Coach Rachel Shuck Whitten's career. In three seasons as the head coach at Coastal Carolina, Shuck Whitten has accumulated 32 wins. Prior to her tenure with the Chants, she spent seven seasons as the head coach of the Furman Paladins, winning 68 games.
With the win over Jacksonville in the conference title game, the Chants advance to their first ever NCAA Tournament, which begins on Friday, May 10 with the opponent yet to be determined.
The 2024 NCAA Women's Lacrosse Championship selection show will air on ESPN 2 tomorrow at 9 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 goccusports.com
