ORANGE BEACH, Ala. – The Vanderbilt Commodores fell 1-0 to the Arkansas Razorbacks in the SEC Tournament at the Orange Beach Sportsplex on Wednesday afternoon.
Prior to the quarterfinal contest head coach Darren Ambrose spoke to the squad about not over-complicating play, controlling the speed of the game and representing Vanderbilt and the program’s alums. Having fallen to the Razorbacks 4-0 almost one month ago, the Commodores took to the field with the want to redeem themselves against a top-20 opponent.
From the first blow of the whistle both teams duked it out in the first 45 minutes of play. Vanderbilt connected both short and long passes on both ends of the field and relied on senior leaders like Kacy Scarpa to help set and control the tempo. Teams headed into the locker room with the game scoreless and the Hogs leading the Commodores in shots, 7-4.
Throughout the second half, Vanderbilt had multiple attacking opportunities in Arkansas’ final third including a high shot by Lydia Simmons and a header by Nia Dorsey, but it was the Hogs’ Claire Kelley who placed a header in the upper left corner in the 78th-minute to take the lead.
VU defender’s Sasha Gray and Danae O’Halloran worked tirelessly from box-to-box generating crosses to Lydia Simmons and the offensive supporting cast. Arkansas, however, walked away from the competition with a spot in the SEC semifinals.
VU concludes the season with a 9-9-1 (5-6-1) overall record.
