Oct. 23, 2014
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The Vanderbilt soccer team answered the challenge last weekend with a sweep of Mississippi State and Tennessee on the road.
The Commodores are ready to rise to the occasion once again as the regular season dwindles to a close.
Vanderbilt wraps up its home schedule this weekend with a pair of games at the VU Soccer/Lacrosse Complex. No. 21 South Carolina comes in for a 6 p.m. tilt on Friday. Two days later, the Commodores host Ole Miss at 5 p.m. on Sunday on Senior Night.
Vanderbilt (7-8-1, 2-5-1) is riding a two-game winning streak and is in a tie for 11th place with Tennessee in the SEC standings. But if the Commodores want to reach the 10-team SEC Tournament for the first time in four years they a couple wins this weekend would go a long way.
“They are huge,” Vanderbilt coach Derek Greene said. “We’re in control of our own fate and that is a good place to be in. You feel like if you can continue to win maybe another team slips up and you’re in the driver’s seat. So our mentality is really good. The team put in a ton of great work this week and they’re ready to go.”
‘DORES WEEKLY REPORT
The Commodores (7-8-1, 2-5-1 SEC) swept both games on the road last weekend, shutting out Mississippi State and Tennessee.
Sophomore Simone Charley scored all three goals on the weekend and the Vanderbilt defense posted back-to-back shutouts in conference play for the first time since 2010.
In a 1-0 victory over Mississippi State on Friday, Charley headed in a corner kick cross from Lydia Simmons in the 78th minute. The defense stayed strong, posting its fifth shutout of the season to lift VU to its first SEC win of the season. Freshman goalkeeper Christiana Ogunsami notched her fourth shutout with seven saves.
Against Tennessee, Charley scored in the first and second halves to propel VU to a 2-0 victory. She kept her footing after drawing contact and fired a shot from the left side of the box into the top corner in the 37th minute. She added her second goal and team-high seventh goal of the season in the 54th minute on assists from Sasha Gray and Jamie Kator. Charley was named the SEC’s Co-Offensive Player of the Week.
Defensively, VU fended off 18 shots to post its sixth shutout. Ogunsami picked up her fifth shutout with four saves as the Commodores defeated Tennessee for the first time since 2009. They also won consecutive league games for the first time in three years.
SCOUTING SOUTH CAROLINA AND OLE MISS
The Commodores wrap up their nine-game home schedule with two games at the VU Soccer Complex against No. 21 South Carolina on Friday and Ole Miss on Sunday on Senior Night.
On Friday, they host the Gamecocks (11-4-1, 4-3-1). Vanderbilt holds a 13-4-4 edge on USC but last won in 2008. The Gamecocks jumped back into the national rankings after knocking off then-No. 5 Florida and Ole Miss over the weekend. South Carolina has allowed just eight goals this season, which is the fewest in the SEC. The Gamecocks have also posted an SEC-most nine shutouts. Goalkeeper Sabrina D’Angelo ranks 15th in the country with a goals against average of .504.
A visit from Ole Miss (7-5-4, 2-3-3) caps off the home slate on Sunday. The Rebels and Commodores are all square in the series wtih a 5-5-5 record. But Ole Miss has won the last four meetings as Vanderbilt last won in 2009.
The Rebels have lost two straight and have just one win in their last seven games. They are led by Addie Forbus and Olivia Harrison, who each have six goals.
SIMONE SAYS
Simone Charley has showed no signs of a sophomore slump.
The forward scored five goals and had five assists in 2013 en route to earning SEC All-Freshman honors. This fall, she has picked up the pace, especially in the last three games.
She has scored four goals in the past three games, one against Texas A&M, the lone goal against Mississippi State and two in a 2-0 victory over Tennessee  the first multi-goal game of her career. As a result, she was named the SEC’s Co-Offensive Player of the Week on Oct. 20 and was honored as the women’s soccer player of the week by the Tennessee Sportswriters Association. Of VU’s six goals in SEC play, Charley has scored five. Charley leads the team with seven goals and 17 points and is tied for first with three assists.
The two-sport athlete from Hoover, Ala., also broke the Vanderbilt record five times in the triple jump last spring. She finished ninth at the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships to earn second team All-American honors. At the USATF Junior Championship in June, she broke the school record again with a leap of 43-2.5 to finish third.
EYING THE BEACH
By sweeping last weekend’s games against Mississippi State and Tennessee, the ‘Dores have thrown themselves back into the hunt for a berth in the SEC Tournament in Orange Beach, Ala., on Nov. 3-10.
The top 10 teams in the league make the postseason tournament. With three games left, VU is currently tied for 11th with Tennessee with seven points. Auburn, which Vanderbilt tied, and Ole Miss are in a tie for ninth place just two points ahead with nine. Reaching the SEC Tournament was a preseason goal and VU hopes to make it back for the first time since 2010.
SEVEN SENIORS TO BE HONORED
Vanderbilt’s seven seniors will be honored on Senior Night before the last home game against Ole Miss. Forwards Taylor Elliott, Gena Inbusch and Ashley Oswald along with midfielders Brittney Thomas and Ashley Vega and defenders Cherrelle Jarrett and Taylor Richardson will be recognized before the game with their families. Together, they have played in 318 games and made 175 starts the past four years.
