'Dores can't hold onto halftime lead, fall to No. 24 Georgia

ATHENS, Ga. – On the road, against a ranked team in the Southeastern Conference opener, the Vanderbilt soccer team pounced first and had chances to increase its lead.

But the Commodores couldn’t manufacture the same energy after halftime, allowing three goals in a 3-1 loss to No. 24 Georgia on Sunday at UGA Soccer Stadium in the Southeastern Conference opener.

An early first-half goal by Simone Charley was the only score for the Commodores, who outshot Georgia 11-8 at halftime. But the Bulldogs were the aggressor in the second half, outshooting Vanderbilt 14-5 in the second half.

“Very proud of the way the team came out of the gates,” coach Derek Greene said. “We were all over them probably the first 30 minutes of the game. Unfortunately we didn’t finish our opportunities when we had them. We had smothered them and had them pinned in. It was a great start. We came out flat in the second half and paid the price dearly for it.”

Vanderbilt (5-4, 0-1 SEC) jumped ahead 1-0 in the seventh minute. Charley scored her third goal of the season by depositing a shot from the top of the box into the bottom left corner. It was the first Vanderbilt goal against Georgia since 2007 – a span of seven games and more than 520 minutes.

The Commodores, who had won two straight, had chances to pad their lead. Charley had a header on a cross that was stopped by a defender at the goal line. Lydia Simmons drove a long shot that went off goalkeeper Louise Hogrell’s hand and bounced off the crossbar. Sasha Gray had a close-range attempt snuffed out.

In total in the first half, Vanderbilt put six shots on goal but only one went in as Hogrell made four saves. The Commodores also had five corner kicks compared to Goergia’s two in the first half (those numbers would flip in the second half).

“I remember making the comment that the game could have been 3-0 (in favor of) us in the first 15 minutes of the game,” Greene said. “We have to learn to take advantage of those opportunities, especially on the road.”

The Bulldogs (6-1-1, 1-0-1) came out of halftime more aggressive and rallied to win its fifth straight game. They knotted up the game on a putback by Marion Crowder in the 59th minute. VU freshman goalkeeper Christiana Ogunsami made an initial save but couldn’t hop on the loose ball before Crowder swooped in.

Kelsey Killean scored the game-winner in the 76th minute as Vanderbilt was trying to clear a Georgia corner kick. The Bulldogs (6-1-1, 1-01) then sealed the victory in the 86th minute with Crowder’s second goal. Ogunsami made her ninth start and tied a career-high with nine saves.

Vanderbilt now returns home, where it is 4-0 this year, to host Auburn on Friday and Alabama on Sunday.

“We’ve shown we’re going to be a difficult team to deal with,” junior captain Erin Myers said. “We have key elements. We’re a deep team. We had people coming off the bench helping us out. We are a dangerous team. It will just come with maturity. It is in the first game in the SEC this season. We have 10 to go. It is going to hurt but we’re going to take what we can, watch film and learn from our mistakes.”