TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – After knocking off the top seed in the lower left quadrant and the defending champions, Vanderbilt soccer dances into the Sweet 16 for the first time in program history to face fourth-seeded Penn State at the Seminole Soccer Complex on Sunday night. Kickoff is slated for 4:30 p.m. CT and can be seen on ESPN+.
After a thrilling 90 minutes, the Commodores took the Seminoles to penalty kicks tied 3-3. Keeper Sara Wojdelko recorded a historic performance, registering 14 saves, the most in a single game by a Dore since 1992.
Courtney Jones stepped up first for PKs and connected to give Vandy the 1-0 advantage. Florida State was up next and evened the score. Junior Hannah McLaughlin lined up for Vandy but Seminole keeper Addie Todd jumped in front of it. Florida State took a 2-1 advantage, but Vivian Akyirem came up for the Dores to even the score 2-2. The Seminoles went on to connect on their third try but missed the next two attempts as the Commodores jumped ahead to take a 4-3 advantage and advance to the Sweet 16 for the first time.
Penn State (14-6-3) defeated TCU on Friday night to advance to the Sweet 16 for the eighth consecutive year, the longest active Sweet 16 streak in America. Kaitlyn MacBean leads the Nittany Lions with 16 goals and an assist for a team-high 33 points. In goal, Mackenzie Gress posted four saves on Friday and has 43 on the year.
Sunday’s meeting will be just the second of its kind. Penn State topped Vandy, 2-0, in the lone meeting during the COVID-19 NCAA Tournament. The Dores and Nittany Lions have two common opponents this season in Georgetown and Columbia. Both teams registered a scoreless draw against Georgetown and both teams topped Columbia.
