CONWAY, S.C. – The Coastal Carolina Chanticleers got two goals just eight minutes apart in the second half, enabling them to pull away and defeat the VMI Keydets, 3-0, in Big South women's soccer action Friday in Conway, S.C.

With Coastal (4-5, 1-1 Big South) nursing a 1-0 lead in the 62nd minute, Chanticleer Fia Jonsson pushed a pass from the top of the box to the right side of VMI (2-7, 0-2 BSC) keeper Emily Marbury. Brianna Panico was waiting and finished, putting the ball into the back of the net for her second goal of the game and a 2-0 Coastal lead. Darbie Kelley added a goal in the 70th minute to account for the final margin, 3-0.

In the win, the Chanticleers held a 20-2 edge in shots in a game that saw only six total shots on goal, all by the home team. Only two total corner kicks were recorded on the evening.

Neither team mustered a serious threat until the 20th minute. After the lone Keydet shot of the first half, a try by Emily Adams, was blocked, a Coastal counterattack led to a Maddie Phillips try that went off the crossbar and bounced away.

A shot by Jonsson was wide moments later, and then at 32:09, Ellie Taylor misfired and the match stayed scoreless. Just 50 seconds later, however, Panico put Coastal on the board with a shot by Nickerson and to the top middle of the goal. It was her second goal of the season.

Panico hit the post with a try at 35:18, but the Keydet defense stiffened, allowing just one additional shot over the final nine-plus minutes and sending the match to halftime with a 1-0 score. The first half saw Coastal hold a 10-1 edge in shots, but the two attempts off the frame played a key role in the halftime margin being just one goal.

The second half opened with two yellow cards being assessed to Coastal players, and also saw the teams trade shots. Coastal had a header go high at 49:15, and Sarah Putney missed wide at 52:25 to maintain the 1-0 score. A shot was finally put on frame in the 54th minute, when
Marbury stopped a Taylor Valentine try. The match then settled down for the next seven-plus minutes, with only one shot attempted until Panico's second goal came at 61:05, making it a 2-0 contest.

Kelley added on with Coastal's next shot, coming over eight minutes later, scoring off the crossbar from 20 yards out for the match's final goal, and the 3-0 margin. Marbury made three second-half saves for VMI, while none of the other goalkeepers – Nickerson or Coastal's Faith Farley or Megan Spencer – registered a stop on the evening. 

VMI women's soccer is back in action Wednesday, Oct. 2, as the Keydets play host to Longwood. Game time is set for 4 p.m.