Sept. 27, 2007
| Live Stats: Friday at Alabama, Sunday at Auburn
NASHVILLE, Tenn. –Vanderbilt soccer travels south this weekend to face Alabama and Auburn to open Southeastern Conference play.
VU will face Alabama on Friday at 7 p.m. and will then take on Auburn on Sunday at 2 p.m.
“It’s the beginning of the SEC and everyone knows you need to start off with a bang, so I expect two really competitive games,” said Vanderbilt head coach Ronnie Coveleskie. “They’re both very good teams and when you look at the national rankings, the SEC is doing great. We’re really well-respected across the country and we need to understand that every game matters.”
The Commodores finished the non-conference portion of the schedule with a 3-4-1 record after splitting a pair of contests last weekend at the College of Charleston tournament.
Alabama is 7-2 on the year and rides a three-game winning streak into Friday’s contest. The Crimson Tide have outscored the last three opponents 17-0 in that span. Freshman Carly Mygrants leads the team in scoring with five goals and an assist (11 points). VU defeated Alabama 3-1 a year ago in Nashville and own a 11-1-2 all-time series lead over the Crimson Tide. The lone Alabama win was a 2-1 overtime decision in the 1999 campaign.
Auburn is 4-2-1 after winning its last two games via shutout over Samford (3-0) and Louisiana-Lafayette (2-0) last weekend. Freshman Ashley Marks leads the team in scoring with three goals, while junior Allison Whitworth has been rock solid in goal with a 0.82 goals against average. Vanderbilt and Auburn battled to a scoreless tie last year in Nashville. The Commodores own a 6-3-2 all-time series lead against the Tigers and came out with a 1-0 win the last time the two teams met it in Auburn in 2005.
The Commodores have started five true freshmen throughout the early part of the season, including three in the defensive backfield.
“We mature every time we get on the field as a team.” said Coveleskie when asked about the team coming together. “Our team is getting better and better and our enthusiasm and intensity is still there. This team still believes there is a lot of soccer left to be played.”