The Coastal Carolina University women’s soccer team (4-4-1, 0-0-1 Big South) stays in conference to end its three-game homestand and travels to Statesboro, Ga., for a non-conference matchup. Coastal hosts Liberty Wednesday, Sept. 22, at 3 p.m., and is at Georgia Southern Friday, Sept. 24, at 4 p.m. CCU is coming of a 1-1 tie against UNC Asheville last Saturday.

COASTAL TIES TO OPEN UP BSC: Coastal and UNC Asheville opened the Big South Conference schedule with a 1-1 tie. It was the second time in the program’s history that the Lady Chants opened the Big South with a tie, as the inaugural 2000 team tied Charleston Southern 1-1 to open up conference play.

PARSONS, FISHER NAMED TO ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM: Juniors Bobbie Parsons (Portugal Cove, Newfoundland/Prince of Wales) and Kristina Fisher (Landenburg, Pa./Avon Grove) were named to the UNCG/adidas Classic Sept. 10 and 12 in Greensboro, N.C. Parsons scored a goal in matches against Old Dominion and UNC Greensboro. Fisher had a shot against the Spartans at midfield.

KARELITZ PUTS IN GAME-WINNER AGAINST ODU: Freshman Jill Karelitz (Columbia, S.C./Dutch Fork) scored her second career goal and her first game-winning goal in a 2-1 win over Old Dominion Sept. 10. Karelitz scored with just 10:44 remaining as the ball went off a Monarch defender and into the net.

SPREAD THE WEALTH: After a goal from sophomore Laura Weiler (Lexington, Ky./Lexington Catholic) and an assist from junior Rachel Devine (Downingtown, Pa./Downingtown) in a 3-2 loss to UNC Wilmington, eight Lady Chants have now score a point in the first seven contests. Junior Bobbie Parsons (Portugal Cove, Newfoundland/Prince of Wales) leads the attack with six points, while freshman Jill Karelitz (Columbia, S.C./Dutch Fork) has four points.

STOLL STARTS SOLID IN GOAL: Sophomore Jaclyn Stoll (Fairfax Station, Va./Hayfield Secondary) had three saves and earned her second shutout of the season in the 1-0 win over Campbell Sept. 4. Stoll also stopped eight shots, one short of her career-high, in a 2-0 victory over Western Carolina Aug. 31.

THE DOWN UNDER DUO: Sophomore Simone Borucinski (Canberra, Australia/Daramalan College) and freshman Emily McColl (Wellington, New Zealand/Hutt Valley) combined for two goals and three assists in Coastal’s first eight matches. McColl set up senior Leah Barrett (LaPlata, Md./LaPlata) for the game-winner over Campbell while Borucinski fed freshman Jill Karelitz (Columbia, S.C./Dutch Fork) for a goal in a 2-0 win over Western Carolina.

CCU PICKED AS BIG SOUTH FAVORITE: The Coastal Carolina women’s soccer team was picked as the favorite in the 2004 Big South Conference Pre-Season Poll, the conference office announced. The Lady Chants received 143 points overall, including five first-place votes. The 2003 squad, in Coastal’s fourth season of women’s soccer, went 10-9-2, earning the most single-season wins in program history. The Lady Chants also made their mark by tying for the regular season conference title for the first time.

CHANTS BIG SOUTH CO-CHAMPS: Coastal Carolina captured the Big South regular season co-championship in 2003 when the Chants tied with Charleston Southern, 1-1. The Lady Chants won a share of its first-ever Big South regular season conference crown in only the program’s fourth year of existence. The team final mark of 4-2-1 in the league is its best conference finish in program history.

BIG SOUTH HONORS CHANTS: Coastal Carolina was well represented at the Big South postseason awards, handed out before the 2003 Big South Tournament. Head Coach Karrie Miller was named the Big South Coach of the Year for the second time after guiding the Lady Chants to a co-championship in the regular season, including a 4-2-1 conference record. Candice Doten was named the Big South Scholar-Athlete of the Year for the second year in a row and was on the Women’s Soccer All-Academic Team. Bobbie Parsons (Portugal Cove, Newfoundland/Prince of Wales), Doten and Marisa Kovacs were named to the All-Big South First Team while Simone Borucinski (Canberra, Australia/Daramalan College) was a Second Team selection.

SOCCERBUZZ NAMED CHANT RECRUITING CLASS ONE OF SOUTHEAST’S BEST: The Coastal Carolina University 2004 women’s soccer recruiting class has been ranked 22nd in the Southeast Region by Soccerbuzz.com, the website announced recently.

The Coastal recruiting class includes midfielder/forward Kali Demmel (Highlands Ranch, Colo./Thunder Ridge), midfielder Jill Karelitz (Columbia, S.C./Dutch Fork), midfielder Emily McColl (Wellington, New Zealand/Hutt Valley), forward Morgan Tolan (Ocean City, Md./Stephen Decatur) and defender Missy Winstead (Myrtle Beach, S.C./Myrtle Beach).

This is the first time that the Lady Chants have had a recruiting class ranked by Soccerbuzz.com since the 2000 season, when they were grouped with Central Florida, East Carolina and UNC Wilmington as the Best of the Rest in the Southeast. Coastal also was the only team in the Big South that was ranked. The University of North Carolina topped the Southeast Region, while Texas A&M had the top class in the nation.

UP NEXT: Coastal hosts VMI Saturday, Oct. 2, at 2 p.m.