CONWAY, S.C. – The Coastal Carolina women's soccer team suffered a 3-1 defeat to the James Madison Dukes on Thursday night at the CCU Soccer Complex.
With the loss, the Chants fall to 4-4-3, 0-1-1 Sun Belt on the season while the Dukes improve to 4-3-2, 2-0-0 Sun Belt.
The Dukes took the lead in the 8th minute when Ginny Lackey cut the ball back to Amanda Attanasi, who slotted the ball into the bottom right corner to put JMU up 1-0.
The Chants answered back in the 13th minute when Silje Nilsen whipped a corner kick to the back post to the foot of freshman Lauryn Barringer, who netted her first goal of the season to level the score at 1-1.
James Madison regained the lead in the 24th minute when Lackey smashed the ball into the right corner off assists from London Lewis and Lexi Vanderlinden.
At the end of the first frame, JMU led 7-4 in shots and 2-1 in corner kicks.
Just three minutes into the second half, the Dukes extended their lead when Sophia Verrecchia found the back of the net off an assist from Lacky to make the score 3-1.
Coastal keeper Vivienne Carr made back-to-back saves in the 57th and 58th minutes along with a huge 1-v-1 save against Lacky in the 63rd minute to hold the deficit to 3-1.
The Chants took their lone shot of the half in the 71st minute, but Eleanor Ashton's shot flew over the crossbar to ultimately give the Duke the 3-1 victory.
"All credit to JMU today, they're an incredibly well-coached team who play with such a confidence and assuredness about them," stated head coach Jo Chubb. "Soccer is a game of moments and unfortunately today they were more clinical in those moments than we were. However, there are definitely some positives to take from the game that we will now look to take into a huge game on Sunday. Proud of the girls and their efforts today. We keep building. Brick by brick."
The Chanticleers will hit the road to take on Georgia Southern on Sept. 29 in Statesboro, Ga. Kickoff is set for 1 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
