ST. LOUIS, Mo. – Less than 48 hours after their season opening win, the Vanderbilt soccer team was back on the pitch looking to ride the momentum into its match against Saint Louis. Unfortunately for the Dores, Saint Louis was up for the challenge and used two first-half goals to claim a 3-0 win.
Head coach Darren Ambrose hopes that the team can learn from a game like this.
“Games like this are going to happen when you have a young team,” said Ambrose. “For the younger players, my hope is they realize the physical fitness and skill level required to play at the collegiate level. For the upperclassmen, they have to set a better example going forward.”
Early on, the Commodores had a few opportunities to strike first. Freshman Myra Konte had the first shot of the game in the third minute but it sailed just wide. Less than a minute later, Stephanie Amack got her head on the ball and sent it towards the net but Mary Niehaus made the save.
Later in the 25th minute, Lydia Simmons took a corner and sent it into the box where Grace Jackson was waiting. She beat her defender to the ball, got her head on it, but it sailed just wide.
Then the Billikens would use that miss and turn their next possession into a goal. Alyssa Seitzer got a shot off and Kaitlyn Fahrner deflected the ball away but Olivia Petit was there for the rebound and put it into the back of the net.
Four minutes later, Petit was at it again. She scored her second goal of the game off the assist from Courtney Reimer to give the Billikens a 2-0 lead that they would take into halftime.
Second half was more of the same for the Commodores as they were able to get some opportunities but could not capitalize on them.
Saint Louis would add one more goal in the second half from Evie Lavelle in the 53rd minute with the assists from Seitzer and Maddie Pokorny.
The Dores saw a lot of production from the freshmen once again. Three freshmen got the start for the Dores while eight got on the field Sunday afternoon. Myra Konte and Kayla Eason earned their first regular season starts while Haley Hopkins and Paola Ellis saw their first action for the black and gold.
Ambrose was pleased with the freshmen in just their second collegiate game.
“I thought for the most part they did well,” said Ambrose. “Most of the subs off the bench are freshmen at the moment so we will have four or five on the field at the same time. They have good ideas at times. It is just the speed of the game that gets to them and sometimes they panic. But overall I thought they did well today.”
The Commodores will look to regroup this week before the head out on the road again. Their next match will be on Friday as they travel to Chestnut Hill and take on Boston College. Kickoff is set for 6 pm CT.
