CCU Fall Sports Notebook: Kayla Christian starring as rookie for Chanticleers

While the Coastal Carolina women’s soccer team has gotten off to an up-and-down start, there has been at least one very positive development through the first part of the season as it looks like the Chanticleers have found their offensive centerpiece for the next several years.

Freshman forward Kayla Christian was already up to five goals through eight games entering play Wednesday night and was named the Big South Attacking Player of the Week on Monday while continuing to exceed all expectations as a collegiate rookie.

“We always knew she was athletic. She’s a hard worker, she’s a good kid. [But] goals are always a bonus at some level,” Chants coach Paul Hogan said. “I thought she would be hard working, I thought she would be a good forward who would have more assists than goals, especially in her first year, but she’s picked it up pretty quickly. When she’s had chances, she’s scored them.”

Christian scored the game-winning goal in the Chants’ 2-1 overtime victory over N.C. State last Wednesday, finding the back of the net with eight seconds remaining in the first overtime. It was the second game-winner of the season for the 5-foot-3 forward from Chantilly, Va.

And her strong start has Hogan excited not only for the rest of this season, but for the future as well.

“That’s the best thing about having a freshman who is doing so well – now you start building around it,” he said. “... And she’s still got a lot of room to grow.”

As for the Chants, that win over N.C. State at home was the program’s first over an ACC opponent and it snapped a two-game losing streak for the team.

“It meant a lot. [Getting] a win going into conference play kind of gets our confidence back,” Hogan said. “Winning solves all problems, and I think we did some really good things in the game so we can build off that heading into conference play.”

The Chants took a 4-4 record into their Big South opener Wednesday night at Presbyterian, and Hogan is hoping the strength of the team’s non-conference schedule has the players well prepared for conference play.

“We did challenge ourselves with a pretty good schedule,” he said. “... We won’t see anything in conference that we haven’t seen before.”

Men’s soccer unbeaten entering Big South play

The Coastal Carolina men’s soccer team will take a sterling 5-0-1 record and No. 5 national ranking into its Big South opener Friday night at home against Gardner-Webb.

The Chants and junior goalkeeper Fernando Pina have allowed only two goals through six games to rank sixth in the NCAA with a .32 goals-against average.

Junior Sergio Camargo leads the team with three goals and three assists after a two-goal performance in a 3-1 win at UAB on Monday.

Volleyball team bests Gamecocks

For the second season in a row, Coastal Carolina topped South Carolina in volleyball as the Chants bested the Gamecocks in four sets (25-15, 17-25, 25-15, 25-23) Tuesday night in Columbia.

Sophomore standout Leah Hardeman led the way with 13 kills.

The Chants improved to 8-4 and have won their past three matches against SEC opponents after defeating South Carolina and Tennessee last season.

The team opens Big South play on the road with contests Friday at Winthrop and Saturday at Presbyterian.

Cross country to get tested at UVA

The Coastal Carolina men’s and women’s cross country teams head to Charlottesville, Va., for the Panorama Farms Invitational on Saturday for what should be their toughest challenge yet in the young season.

The Chanticleer women are ranked No. 11 in the Southeast Region and will compete against a Virginia team ranked No. 3 in the region.

Widegren leads men’s golf team

The Coastal Carolina men’s golf team placed eighth out of 10 teams in its first tournament of the fall, finishing the 54-hole Rees Jones Invitational in Daufuskie Island on Tuesday 49 strokes behind first-place Liberty.

Junior Olle Widegren was the Chants’ top finisher, placing tied for 13th at 8-over for the tournament for his third career top-20 finish.

The team returns to action next weekend at the Tar Heel Intercollegiate in Chapel Hill, N.C.

Cocca paces women’s golf team

The women’s golf team placed 11th out of 17 teams at the Lady Paladin Invitational in Greenville this week to start its fall season.

Overall, the Chants finished the 54-hole tournament at 57-over, 50 strokes behind first-place Missouri, while senior Bailey Cocca paced the squad, tying for 39th with a 12-over finish.

The team heads to Columbia, Mo., next Monday for the Johnnie Imes Invitational.

This story was originally published September 23, 2015 at 7:19 PM with the headline "CCU Fall Sports Notebook: Kayla Christian starring as rookie for Chanticleers."