Dec. 3, 2015
Weeks after his first season as Vanderbilt’s head soccer coach concluded, Darren Ambrose sat down and reflected on the 2015 campaign.
The Commodores had one of their more successful seasons in recent memory, notching their first winning season since 2009. The team’s nine wins were also the most in six years. Defense set the tone as Vanderbilt posted six shutouts for the second straight year and allowed just 23 goals – their fewest since 2006.
Achieving a team goal set when the team met with Ambrose in February, the ‘Dores made the SEC Tournament for the first time since 2010. Arriving in Orange Beach, Ala., Vanderbilt wasn’t satisfied with just being there. The Commodores defeated Georgia 2-1 in the opening round for their first SEC Tournament win in 10 years. They then took a one-goal lead over top-seeded and No. 5-ranked Florida before falling 2-1 in the quarterfinals.
Breaking through and reaching the SEC Tournament provides hope for the future as the Commodores are expected to return seven starters and 15 letterwinners.
“We got off to a great start,” Ambrose said. “I expect next year, I expect it to be harder. But I think the girls are hungry and enjoyed the success. That is one thing about winning – it is contagious. When you have won it tends to breed, next year, ‘Well, we want to do that again.’ Now, it is do we have the players, the mentality to bring along those younger players and raise the expectation to work even harder this spring and this summer so we can be back down there (at the SEC Tournament) next year and maybe even further.”
