BATON ROUGE, La. – The Vanderbilt soccer team hit the road to begin SEC play and looked to continue their success on the road this season. They did just that Sunday afternoon in Baton Rouge as a late goal from Madiya Harriott gave the Commodores a 1-0 road win.
Head coach Darren Ambrose was happy with the team’s effort and thought they deserved the result against LSU.
“I thought we played very well,” said Ambrose. “I thought over the 90 minutes we deserved the result. We carried most of the game and was very pleased with how we stuck with it in the second half. We defended well, didn’t give many opportunities so it was well deserved.”
The Commodores maintained most of the possession in the first half and generated chances in their attacking third. The Dores sent a number of crosses into the box but couldn’t get a clean shot on net and it remained scoreless at the half.
The Commodore defense was strong in the first half as they took away any possible counterattacks the Tigers tried to attempt. LSU managed one shot on net in the early moments of the half but Kaitlyn Fahrner was there to make the save, diving to her left.
In the second half, the opportunities weren’t as numerous for the Dores as LSU gained more of the possession.
The score still stayed a 0-0 as the game entered the final 10 minutes of play.
In the 86th minute, the Commodores earned a throw-in from their attacking third. Olivia Simmons took the throw a week after assisting on two goals from throws in the win against Lipscomb.
Simmons sent the throw high into the box where Madiya Harriott gained possession and fired a shot but it was blocked. Harriott stayed with it and her second chance found the back of the net for the game’s first and only goal.
The Commodore defense held the Tigers off the board in the final four minutes to secure the 1-0 win on the road.
Harriott was the lone goal scorer for the Dores as she picked up the first of her career. The goal was just the second goal conceded by LSU this season through eight games.
The Commodores’ back line of Stephanie Amack, Cristina De Zeeuw, Nia Dorsey and Myra Konte played all 90 minutes against the Tigers and kept the opportunities at a minimum. The Dores picked up their fourth shutout of the season and Fahrner tallied her third clean sheet of the year after making three saves on the afternoon.
The Commodores return home this week for a Thursday night match against Arkansas. Thursday’s tilt will start at 7:00 pm CT and will be aired on the SEC Network+.
