Charley, Simmons earn All-South Region honors

Dec. 3, 2015

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Simone Charley and Lydia Simmons anchored the offensive charge for the Vanderbilt soccer team this fall.

On Thursday, the efforts of the dynamic duo were recognized. Charley and Simmons earned NSCAA All-South Region honors. Charley was named to the First Team and Simmons was tabbed to the Third Team.

The honor is the second for Charley, who earned All-South Region Second Team accolades in 2014 as a sophomore. It is the first for Simmons, a redshirt sophomore midfielder. This marks the first time since 2009 that Vanderbilt has had multiple players earn All-South Region honors in the same season.

Charley, a junior from Hoover, Ala., led the Commodores in scoring for the second straight season. The two-time All-SEC forward led the team with seven goals, four assists and 18 points. She also had a team-high four game-winners, including two golden goals, and Vanderbilt was 5-1 when she scored.

The two-sport athlete, who is also a three-time All-American in the triple jump, is tied for 10th all-time in program history with 21 career goals.

Simmons, an SEC All-Freshman selection in 2014, emerged as a scoring threat in her second year on the pitch. The redshirt sophomore from Londonderry, N.H., hadn’t scored a goal entering this season. She finished the season with five  behind only Charley  and an assist.

Her game winner in the 85th minute lifted the Commodores to a 1-0 victory over No. 12 Ole Miss in the regular season finale. The goal earned her SEC Co-Offensive Player of the Week honors and punched the team’s ticket to the SEC Tournament for the first time in five years.

The duo combined for 12 goals – more than half of the team’s 23 – and helped the Commodores (9-8-4) win an SEC Tournament game for the first time since 2005.