Season of Growth Culminates in History for Coastal Carolina

There was plenty of intensity but few nerves on Coastal Carolina’s sideline during the ASUN championship game. 

Each huddle, the Chanticleers talked about moving forward. The coaches were calm and locked in, which trickled down to the rest of the team. Players knew the moment was what they had dreamed about since they were children, attacker Sydney McClure said, and they didn’t let nerves get in the way.

The calm paid off for the Chants, who defeated Jacksonville 10-9 and punched their first-ever ticket to the NCAA tournament. 

“It was the best feeling in the world,” McClure said. “We have been talking about that since the fall. [I ran] to our goalie, Charlotte [Sadler], hugging her and all of us screaming. It didn’t feel real. I could do it over and over again.”

The win punctuated a milestone season for Coastal Carolina, which went 12-5 in the regular season and 5-1 in ASUN play. The Chanticleers have been on the upswing since going 6-11 during coach Rachel Shuck Whitten’s first season in 2022. 

It was a season full of growth, as Coastal Carolina started 2-3. But the program’s most important stretch came after their first meeting with Jacksonville, which the Chants lost 9-7 on April 18.

Despite the loss, players recognized they didn’t play their best game — yet they still kept it close. They left the locker room feeling like the ASUN championship was theirs to lose in May. 

“After that first game, we realized, ‘Oh, we are really good,’” Sadler said. “We can win this. There’s no reason to doubt ourselves. There was a newfound sense of confidence going into the tournament.”

The Chanticleers returned to the drawing board, adjusting and focusing on executing the game plan in their second go-round with Jacksonville. That, plus the greater sense of belief, paid dividends.

A strong senior class anchored the Chanticleers on attack, and their win against Jacksonville was no different. Senior Monica Manley paced Coastal Carolina with three goals, followed by senior Avery McIlwaine with two goals and an assist.

Most of the group returned from 2023, which McClure said was key for building chemistry. This season, they just had to put it all together.

Whitten said she was impressed by the attack’s unselfish nature, especially against Jacksonville. McClure and Brigid Cardillo, normally top scorers, were relatively quiet during the game, but they did exactly what Whitten asked of them: getting the Dolphins’ defenders away from the action.

The seniors have seen plenty during their careers, including a losing season and early exits in the conference tournament. But Sadler said the coaching staff came in with faith in their players, knowing they could quickly become a championship-caliber team.

Whitten also credited a family-like atmosphere with improving the program, saying she has pushed players to respect one another and hold each other accountable.

Some of this chemistry is player-driven, with the team spending time together cooking themed dinners and attending other Coastal Carolina games. Whitten and her staff have also encouraged players to bond through activities like pickleball, which the program played throughout the fall.

“We really did have something special this year going into [the season]. We are one big family,” Sadler said. “We knew something special was going to happen.”

That family-like atmosphere was evident during Coastal Carolina’s Selection Show watch party. Whitten’s children were front and center in all the clips from the Chanticleers’ night. The program also invited all the players’ parents, many of whom were in town for graduation. The group munched on teal ice cream and jumped up and down when they found out their destination: South Bend, to play No. 7 Notre Dame on Friday.

McClure, who graduated Monday, was joined by her parents. She said it was special for the team to be joined by those who helped them become college athletes, saying all the parents were “ecstatic.”

The Chanticleers traveled to South Bend on Wednesday, and opening-round preparations are in full swing. Whitten said possessions and preventing a run-and-gun game are going to matter against the Irish, who went 15-3 this season.

Regardless of Friday’s outcome, the door is now open for newfound success at Coastal Carolina. Now, they’re focused on sustaining it.

“It’s fun to see the growth that this program has done, and our hope is it’s a continued growth,” Whitten said. “I love the fact that our goal isn’t just winning championships now. It’s, ‘How far in May are we going to go?’”