Soccer Battles to 2-2 Draw with Missouri

Soccer Battles to 2-2 Draw with Missouri

8/18/2006

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The Vanderbilt women’s soccer team played its lone exhibition game of the 2006 preseason Friday against Missouri, finishing with a 2-2 tie after 90 minutes. Senior Susan McAleavey and sophomore Amy Wilcox tallied goals for the Commodores, who will open the 2006 regular season on Friday, August 25, when Colorado visits the VU Soccer Complex for a 7:30 p.m. CT contest.

Head Coach Ronnie Coveleskie’s squad debuted with four seniors, four juniors, one sophomore and one freshman playing a 4-3-3 in front of senior goalkeeper Tyler Griffin.

The offensive-minded set worked in the Commodores’ favor in the 21st minute of play. Vanderbilt earned a corner kick, which junior Lea Lafield served to McAleavey at the far post. The Syosset, N.Y., product’s picture-perfect header beat MU’s Mallory Forst to give the Commodores a 1-0 advantage. For the game, Vanderbilt held a 6-1 advantage in corner kicks.

“One of our goals is to score on a restart in every game,” Coveleskie said. “Today, we scored on our first restart of the game. Last year we had a lot of chances — we were effective at winning the ball, but not productive with those opportunities. Susan’s header was a world-class goal.”

In the second half, Vanderbilt widened its lead when sophomore Amy Wilcox came off the bench and scored in the 54th minute. Battling on the left side of the field just outside the 18-yard box, Wilcox won the ball from an MU defender and sent a shot in from a sharp angle. The ball knuckled and fell in over the Tigers’ keeper to give VU a 2-0 lead.

“Amy Wilcox proved she is a force to be reckoned with up top,” Coveleskie added. “I challenged her before the game to come out and show me something. She was really ready to play today.”

In the 67th minute, Missouri’s Ashley Hamblin got the Tigers on the board, scoring on a counterattack off an assist from Breanna Thornton. Hamblin would score an equalizer just over a minute later, dribbling down the left side of the field to score an unassisted goal.

“When you’re up 2-0, you really have to keep the pressure on to get that third goal,” Coveleskie said. “Once they scored their first goal, the momentum shifted. We did a good job to get the momentum back near the end and create a few more opportunities.

“Overall, I was pleased with our effort today,” Coveleskie said. “It was great to see Tyler coming back to true form after being injured most of the summer. The kind of saves she was making in the first half will help our team be more successful. Our fitness is coming along. Our team had a good mentality today. I’m usually our toughest critic, but I thought this was a positive game for us and shows that we’re in a good place. We’ll continue to build on this as we prepare for our first regular season game against Colorado.”

Griffin made fives saves on the day, as the Commodore defense held Missouri to only 10 shots. Forster has 12 saves for the Tigers.

Admission to Friday’s game against Colorado is $3 for adults and $1 for children. The Commodores will round out next weekend on Sunday, August 27, with a 2:30 p.m. game against Denver at the VU Soccer Complex.