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Box Score
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9/15/2006 NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Freshman Nicole Lukens scored her first career goal at the 37:47 mark in the first half sparking Vanderbilt to a 2-0 win over UAB Friday night at the VU Soccer Complex. The Commodores notched their fourth shutout of the year to improve to 3-1-3 on the season, while UAB fell to 1-5. “I thought the girls did a really great job tonight,” said Vanderbilt head coach Ronnie Coveleskie. “We were able to transition very quickly which is something that we have really been focusing on, so it was good to see us able to execute. Overall, I just thought we were really dynamic tonight. We got some really fantastic looks on goal. That was a really good UAB team that we played tonight and so to be able to shut them out and score twice as well is a real credit to our girls.” Lukens headed in the goal off a feed from Sarah Dennis to give VU a 1-0 lead that they took into halftime. Prior to the goal, Vanderbilt’s best chance to score in the first half came at the 26:34 mark when Susan McAleavey’s header was blocked by a UAB defender standing on the edge of the goal. Lukens had what looked to be her second goal of the half with a little over a minute left, but the Commodores were called for offsides. VU dominated the action in the first half, holding a 15-3 shot advantage. McAleavey connected on her team leading third goal of the season at the 55:11 mark in the second half to extend the lead to 2-0. Meredith Kohn delivered a perfect pass that McAleavey was able to shoot into an empty net as the keeper came up to try and make the save. Tyler Griffin recorded her 27th career shutout and needs two more to move into first place on the school’s all-time list (Christy Barringer, 28.5). “We take such a commitment to defending,” said Coveleskie. “The entire unit does. Our midfield works so hard to support our backs and I think tonight you really saw the results of that.” The Commodores will close out its brief two-game home stand against Middle Tennessee on Sunday at 2 p.m. “This is an incredibly important weekend for us, so it is great to get it started on the right foot,” added Coveleskie. “We know that we need to get on a roll, especially heading into conference play. You can’t say enough about getting on a roll in terms of just building up our confidence.” UAB 0 0 0 Goals: VU- Lukens (1), McAleavey (3) |