NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C.- After a scoreless first-half, Big South Player of the Year Ashleigh Gunning scored the game's only goal as #1 Coastal Carolina held off #8 VMI 1-0 in the First Round of the Big South Championship.
Big South Conference All-Freshman goalkeeper Angela Redmond made a season-high 13 saves for VMI in the contest, but could not stop Gunning from scoring her 14th goal fo the season just three minutes into the second half. On the play, Gunning tapped the ball into the net after juggling a pass from teammate Corie Coles. With the goal, Gunning becomes the new Coastal Carolina record-holder for single-season points with 37, breaking Blair Monroe's record of 36 from 2005.
VMI's best opportunity came in the 71st minute, when Jessica Robbins' header sailed just inches over the crossbar.
Coastal Carolina outshot the Keydets 32-4 in the contest while taking all seven awarded corner kicks in the game.
The Keydets wrap up their season at 5-13-2 after making their first-ever postseason appearance.
HEAD COACH BRYAN WILLIAMS- “It was a very good game, a defensive one, and it obviously looks that way on paper. Angela did a very nice job in goal overall, and our backline did a very good job of frustrating the Regular-Season Champs. Our best opportunity came on a great ball into the left side, and I believe Chrissy Beach put it across to Jessica Robbins. Jess had a 1-on-1 with their keeper inside of the 12, but unfortunately it was a bouncing ball, and Jess chose to take it with a header to try to take it over the keeper, but it wound up going over the goal. That would have equalized it and made it a whole new ballgame.
“On the backline, Audrey cleared a shot off the line on a ball that beat Angela on her left post, and Coastal headed it into the goal before Audrey cleared it off the line. That was really a great save. Besides that, we were pressing at the end of the second half, and just couldn't sustain anything consistently.
“It was a lot of fun to play the match against them, they're a very solid team and we played very well. It was great to get our first line of starters out there relatively healthy against them, and that presented us with an opportunity to give them a match.
“We just couldn't find that goal, and we didn't have a corner kick the entire match, which is telling in that we couldn't sustain anything up top. They defended well and kept pushing forward. I'm very proud of them, they worked their tails off. It's disappointing to end the season, but we took the Regular Season Champs down to the wire, they certainly weren't comfortable the entire match. So all in all, if it has to come to an end, it's not a bad way to do it.”
