The No. 15/20 University of Louisville lacrosse team defeated Coastal Carolina 13-6 Wednesday afternoon in the first of two straight road games. Senior Hannah Koloski led the Cardinals, tying her career-high with six goals.
“I am really proud of our team for working together and making smart adjustments at key moments in the game,” said head coach Kellie Young. “There were a number of positive statistics today. Meghan (Siverson) was a huge presence on the draw and Hannah (Koloski) was phenomenal on the attack. We also had a sleeper in Elise Koehl, scoring two key goals today. Alex Rich had her first career start today on the defensive end and had such a strong presence.”
Louisville started the game with a 4-0 run. Koloski opened the scoring four minutes into the game, scoring on a free position shot. Siverson scored on the next possession to put the Cardinals up 2-0. Madison Hoover found Koehl in the 22nd minute and Koloski capped the run with a goal in the 21st minute.
Coastal Carolina answered with a 3-0 run of their own to cut the Cardinal lead to 4-3 with 14 minutes left in the first half. That sparked a 3-0 Louisville run over the next six minutes. Koloski scored two goals while Siverson scored her second of the game for a 7-3 Louisville lead. The Chanticleers scored the final goal of the half at 1:55 to cut the Cardinal lead to 7-4 at the break.
Just like the first half, the Cardinals started the second half on a 4-0 run. Siverson scored five minutes into the second half to start the run. McKayla Conti scored on a free position shot two minutes later for a 9-4 Louisville lead. Koloski scored in the 19th minute and Koehl capped the run in the 16th minute with her second goal of the game for an 11-4 Cardinal lead.
The Chanticleers scored in the 13th minute off a free position shot. Koloski scored her sixth goal of the game at the 7:39 mark off a give and go from Emily Howell for a 12-5 lead. Coastal Carolina scored in the fourth minute to cut the lead to 12-6. Junior Julia Wood scored her first goal of the season in the third minute to secure a 13-6 Louisville victory.
Louisville finished the match with a 32-13 shot advantage and a 24-16 advantage in ground balls. The Cardinals finished with an 11-10 advantage at the draw.
Junior keeper Brittany Read finished with four saves while the Chanticleers finished with eight. Siverson led the Cards with nine draw controls. Stephanie McNamara led Louisville with three caused turnovers and four ground balls. Emily Petillo also finished with four ground balls.
For the second game in a row, the Cardinals had balanced scoring from the attack. Siverson finished with three goals while Koehl finished with two. Conti and Wood each finished with a goal. Hoover and Howell finished with one assist.
The Cardinals will continue the spring break road trip on Saturday, March 18 at Boston College at noon.
Kimberli Pemberton
Assistant Sports Information Director
University of Louisville
Louisville, KY 40292
