NASHVILLE, Tenn. – After defeating the LSU Tigers Sunday afternoon by a score of 3-0, the Vanderbilt soccer team walked away from the weekend with back-to-back shutout SEC victories.
Goals by Grace Jackson, Hannon Eberts and Cristina De Zeeuw helped the Commodores finish one of their most successful weekends under head coach Darren Ambrose.
“We said all along that we’re trying to find a identity,” said Ambrose. “The reason it’s taken so long is because we had some many players trying to figure out what they were doing. The last two weeks, as you get into conference play, you iron out a lot of stuff. Not calling them mistakes, because they were things that we learned from, and now we’re starting to figure that out. I think our midfield is one of the best in the league now. They have confidence on the ball and make great decisions.”
VU and LSU exchanged multiple opportunities to begin the first half. With the majority of both team’s chances landing wide, the Commodores took the lead in the 22nd minute off a deep cross from senior Sasha Gray.
Always in the mix offensively, freshman Grace Jackson was on the receiving end of Gray’s serve. The Atlanta-native headed the ball into the back left corner of the net for her fourth career goal.
SEC freshman of the week, Hannon Eberts subbed in for Jackie Welch in the 29th minute. In a matter of seconds, Eberts gained possession of the ball, powered through midfield and gave VU the 2-0 edge. In Tiger territory, the Somers, N.Y native muscled her way to the front of the Louisiana State goal and drilled a ball under LSU’s diving goalkeeper Caroline Brockmeier.
“The last thing I said to her (Eberts) before she went in was, ‘you’re a powerful kid and none of those players can stay with you if you just run through the ball. That’s the kind of physical presence you bring. If your opportunity comes and there’s a loose ball, just run through it and make your own luck.'”
The Commodores capped the first half leading the Tigers in shots (6), saves (3) and corner kicks (1). The black and gold came out of the locker room carrying momentum into the final 45 minutes of play as Kaylann Boyd nearly generated the third goal of the game.
Following Boyd’s offensive surge, the Tigers went on the offensive counterattack and strung together back-to-back shots. In the goal box, LSU’s Christyna Pitre headed a ball, which sailed wide. Minutes later the Tiger’s Alex Thomas struck the ball with her left foot, but VU’s Kaitlyn Fahrner came through in goal for the save.
Earning two goals off set pieces against Texas A&M on Thursday, Lydia Simmons again played an important role in the Commodore offense. The Londonberry, N.H. native took a Commodore corner and placed the ball just outside the goal box. Surrounded by Tiger defenders, De Zeeuw turned and headed the ball through the LSU defense for her second career goal.
Following what would be the Commodores’ game-winning goal, LSU took four more shots, but walked away with their third SEC loss of the season.
Vanderbilt enjoys one game next weekend, as the squad heads east to face in-state rival Tennessee. Currently in fourth place in the SEC, VU takes on the Volunteers at 6:00 pm CT on Friday, September 30th on SEC Network+.
