After a road win against Old Dominion, the Vanderbilt Commodores suffered a heartbreaking loss to Coastal Carolina, 10-8. The name of the game was possession, with Coastal Carolina winning the shots battle 23-20 and the draw control battle 16-6.
Paige Gunning showcased her stardom, saving eight shots and making incredible defensive plays from outside the crease. Brooke Baker also had a standout performance, with three goals and an assist.
After the initial draw, the Commodores suffered an immediate green card on Ella Smith, putting Coastal Carolina on a power play only a minute into the game. The pace of play stayed slow, with Vanderbilt dropping back into a zone. The Chanticleers moved the ball around the perimeter and found a cutting Abi George only a few feet from the net but was denied by an incredible save from Gunning.
Coastal Carolina continued to dominate the possession in the first five minutes, patiently working the ball around the fan and finding cutters right outside the crease. But for every cutter the Chanticleers found, the Vanderbilt defense collapsed on the ball, forcing turnovers and saves. But with 5:52 remaining on the clock, Sydney McClure scored a free-position goal to give the Chanticleers a 1-0 lead. This would send a spark throughout the Coastal Carolina team, as Avery Snyder found a cutting Abi George for a wide-open goal, extending the lead to 2-0.
With less than a minute left, Vanderbilt’s Sammy Nuchow had a free position opportunity from the right side of the eight-meter fan. Nuchow delivered her 13th assist of the season when she assisted Cate Bradley, who scored her 14th goal of the season. Coastal Carolina entered the second quarter with a 2-1 lead.
The second quarter was much like the first. A Vanderbilt turnover put the Chanticleers on offense, who got the ball to McClure in the X before firing it to a cutting Maddie Bates for the goal, giving Coastal Carolina a 3-1 lead.
After four consecutive unforced turnovers by the Commodores, Nuchow slipped in the X, forcing a fifth straight turnover and then recording a yellow card in frustration, leading to a Monica Manley goal. McClure would then add her second goal of the game, extending the Coastal Carolina lead to 5-1.
With the half winding down, Logan Risenhoover would put one in the back of the net, making the score 5-2 in favor of the Chanticleers, which is where the first half would end. Coastal Carolina would end the half with double the shots on net as Vanderbilt, who recorded 14 and 7, respectively.
The Commodores struck first in the second half, thanks to Kemper Robinson’s 26th goal of the season, slicing past her defender to find the back of the net. Baker would add another free position goal, which marked three unanswered goals for Vandy, changing the score to 5-4. And after another Coastal Carolina goal, Baker would pour in her second of the game, making the score 6-5 Chanticleers.
The third quarter would end still 6-5, but the momentum was on the Commodores’ side with Vanderbilt controlling most of the possession and only committing 2 turnovers, a large improvement from its 14 turnovers in the first half.
Vanderbilt clawed back in the fourth quarter to tie the game at six apiece when Smith and a great shot from Bradley only 30 seconds in. An Alyson Mascolo backhand would then break the tie only two minutes later, giving Coastal Carolina a 7-6 lead.
With a hair over seven minutes left and the Commodores up a player, Risenhoover had a free position all the way to the right of the eight-meter crease. Instead of attempting a shot, she swung the ball to Smith in the X who then found Baker in front of the net. Baker, guarded by two, tipped the ball up to herself before fading away and nailing the top of the cage for the goal. Baker’s goal recorded her fourth hat trick of the season and tied the game at seven.
Bates then recorded a hat trick with a goal and Manley added one more herself, once again deflating the Commodores by taking a 9-7 lead with under five minutes to go.
Risenhoover had an opportunity to close the lead to one goal, finding the back of the net, but her goal was called back because she was in the crease. Robinson would end up scoring at the 1:09 mark, but Coastal Carolina’s empty-net goal with 11 seconds remaining iced the game.
The Commodores will resume conference play at home against East Carolina University on Saturday, April 13th at 12:00 p.m. CDT.
