CONWAY, S.C. – Old Dominion lacrosse fell 13–10 to Coastal Carolina on Wednesday afternoon in Conway. Jules Mills notched a hat trick, while Ashley Greene added two goals and two assists in the loss.
“Overall, much better team play today than our last three games, so it’s good to see us taking steps towards playing up to our potential as a full team,” said head coach Theresa Walton. “We played 30 minutes of the game today, but we weren’t able to fully jump up and ahead enough to bury our opponent and Coastal did just that in their own 30-minute win”.
The Chanticleers (7-4)struck first, as Gabrielle Beaudet scored to give Coastal Carolina a 1–0 lead with 14:14 remaining in the first quarter. The Monarchs (5-7) responded quickly, with Mills finding the back of the net at the 13:36 mark to tie the game at 1–1. Sylvia Mayo then gave ODU its first lead of the day, scoring with 9:10 to play to make it 2–1. Mills added her second goal at 6:05, extending the lead to 3–1. Beaudet answered with her second goal late in the quarter, cutting the deficit to 3–2 heading into the second.
In the second quarter, Natalie Calandra-Ryan converted a free-position shot with 11:26 on the clock to push the Monarchs’ lead to 4–2. Shortly after, Calandra-Ryan was ejected following her second yellow card with 10 minutes remaining in the period. Coastal Carolina capitalized late, as Beaudet completed her hat trick with 3:52 left, and Evelyn Kitchin followed with another goal to tie the game at 4–4 with 2:05 to go. Kayleigh Flanegan responded for ODU, beating goalkeeper Charlotte Sadler to give the Monarchs a 5–4 halftime lead.
After the break, Kitchin converted a free-position attempt to tie the game at 5–5 with 14:08 remaining in the third. Less than a minute later, Alyson Mascolo gave the Chanticleers a 6–5 lead with 13:25 on the clock. With just over a minute left in the quarter, Ashley Greene scored her first goal of the day to even the score at 6–6 heading into the final period.
In the fourth quarter, Annalynn Pompetti opened the scoring at the 14:25 mark, putting ODU ahead 7–6. Greene followed just a minute later with her second goal, extending the lead to 8–6. Coastal Carolina then surged with a five-goal run, besting ODU goalkeeper Brynn Bowen to take an 11–8 lead, fueled by two goals from Beaudet and one goal each from Kitchin, Nikki Seven, and Alexandra Horn.
Mills completed her hat trick to cut the deficit to 11–9 with just over five minutes remaining. About a minute later, Flanegan scored off a pass from Greene to make it 11–10. Mascolo answered with her second goal of the game at the 3:14 mark, pushing the lead to 12–10. With just over a minute remaining, Beaudet netted her sixth goal of the day, sealing the 13–10 victory for the Chanticleers.
“Natalie Calandra-Ryan carding out really hurt us, but Payton Kelly stepped it up on our draw today so it was good to see our next ups step up when called to do so,” said Walton. “We get to take on the current top team in the conference at home this Saturday with USF. Big challenge ahead that I hope this squad gets excited for starting now”.
The Chanticleers controlled the stat sheet, outshooting the Monarchs 31–20 while also holding advantages in ground balls 14–6, and draw controls 14–11. CCU goalkeeper Charlotte Sadler recorded five saves, while ODU’s Bowen finished with eight.
UP NEXT
The Monarchs return to Norfolk for an American Conference matchup against South Florida on Saturday, March 28, at the L.R. Hill Sports Complex. The opening draw is set for noon.