CONWAY, S.C. – Raking in his fourth season as the leader of the Presbyterian College lacrosse program, head coach Eric Clakeley and co. complete their final preparations for the beginning of a new season at the tail end of the weekend, starting the 2023 rundown at Coastal Carolina on Sunday. The first draw control of a veteran-laden roster’s campaign will take place at noon.
Displaying a grand total of 10 seniors to their ’23 unit – returning 19 players altogether beside four freshmen – the Blue Hose figure to be one of the most experienced clubs in the Big South with a challenging slate ahead of them. The three-hour trip to Conway will be the first of 10 road bouts on the semester, rendered as the visiting side for nearly 60% of the upcoming schedule.
SCOUTING THE OPPONENT
A member of the ASUN conference, Coastal Carolina has put together 16 combined victories over the previous two seasons behind a 6-11 march in 2022. Only registering five league meetings over the entire schedule, the Chanticleers were granted entry into the postseason, though were immediately ousted by top seed and nationally-ranked Jacksonville by 13 goals in the tourney’s first round.
Holding a 2-4 record whenever the hosting party a year ago, CC and second-year coach Rachel Shuck Whitten enjoy a rare luxury of eight consecutive home dates to kick off the season lasting over a full month, playing in their own backyard 12 times out of 17 total events. Midfielder Avery McIlwaine and attacker Kayla Downey were each selected for the ASUN’s preseason all-league roster.
One of three teams across an eight-school conference to receive at least one first-place vote by ASUN coaches, the Chanticleers bring a third-place projection into 2023 at just five points back of #2 in the league. McIlwaine and Downey combined for 48 goals and 25 assists one year back, serving as a quality test for PC to open up the calendar.
2022 BLUE HOSE RECAP
Optimism surrounds Presbyterian’s spring layout thanks to the aforementioned senior wave, returning 14 players who competed in at least 12 matchups and five who started a double-digit tally of games. Senior Abby Edmisten ran away with the team-high in goals as a junior (38), landing a shot-on-goal percentage of .791 in 68 attempts.
Not all of PC’s accomplishments last year came from upperclassmen, however. Then-freshman Willow Hammond secured 19 scores on 26 draw controls throughout her first year, while then-sophomore Kylie Sullivan added 22 more DC’s.
Paige Gacek and Kendall Goldfarb – the anchors of the Presbyterian defense gearing up for their last go-around – totaled 67 ground ball pickups in 2022, forcing the opposing side into 37 turnovers between them. Classmates Ava Ward and Taryn Tomas were equally effective at the midfield/defensive spots, collecting 24 and 21 ground balls respectively.
CONWAY, S.C. – The Presbyterian College lacrosse team and fourth-year head coach Eric Clakeley officially turned the page on a brand-new slate Sunday afternoon in a road environment, coming up on the losing side of an in-state battle with Coastal Carolina by a 20-3 final score.
Picked as the third-highest roster in the preseason ASUN coaches’ poll, the Chanticleers lived up to that billing against the Blue Hose by steadily putting the pressure on PC’s defensive core for a minimum of four goals in each period. The loss in Conway gives CCU a 5-0 edge in the all-time series against Presbyterian, landing 26 on-target shots while successfully completing all 15 clear attempts.
NOTABLES
- The second of three different Blue Hose members to find the back of the net on Sunday, senior leader Abby Edmisten moved one spot further up the school record books as she darted the ball past Coastal keeper Claire Martell with 65 seconds left until intermission. That goal gave the Georgia native her 90th score donning the PC colors, now 3rd-place all-time in the 17-year history of the program.
- Edmisten’s noteworthy last-minute strike was sandwiched in between two other Presbyterian connections by sophomore Willow Hammond – the 20th career goal from the rising star attacker – and another from junior Kylie Sullivan at the 2:27 mark of the 3rdstanza.
- Coach Clakeley’s unit found its most profitable period in the 2nd against the Chanticleers, a 15-minute window that included five shots, four turnovers forced, seven successful clears, and six saves by freshman Lilly Phillips in her collegiate debut, spending a total of 50 minutes on the field.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Breaking through with 6:58 remaining in the first period, Hammond’s extra-man opportunity (the only such occasion of the entire contest from either side) was cashed in to bring the Blue Hose within a pair of the lead. That would be the closest PC would come to that notion, however, with Coastal Carolina embarking on a game-long six-goal streak that bled into the next frame.
- Following the unassisted score from Edmisten in the waning moments of half #1, the Chanticleers stretched the deficit to 12 before Sullivan wrapped up PC’s scoring sequence in the back half of the 3rd. The New Hampshire product recorded her 10th career goal in that swift motion, although a 5-2 edge in shots on-goal from that point by the home side and a total of six saves by three different CCU goalies kept the Blue Hose at bay for the 17-point victory.
UP NEXT
- The first of six nonconference outings to emanate away from Clinton, Presbyterian remains on the road for their next affair 10 days from now in the northeast, preparing for a 1:00 p.m. visit to Delaware State on Wednesday, February 22. PC has never been defeated by the Hornets in six meetings dating back to 2014, last seen in Dover picking up a 15-7 W one year ago.
