Sept. 8, 2009
NASHVILLE, Tenn. â€â€ Vanderbilt soccer, fresh off another undefeated weekend to improve to 5-0 on the year, picked up some national recognition this week as Soccer America ranked the Commodores at No. 25 in its weekly poll.
VU closed out a season opening five-game home stand with wins over Belmont and Oklahoma last weekend. The Commodores handed the Sooners their first loss of the season as they entered the contest with a 4-0-1 record.
The national ranking is the first for the Commodores since the 2006 season when they made their second straight NCAA tournament appearance and finished with a 10-4-7 overall record.
Vanderbilt is also ranked fifth in the National Soccer Coaches Association of America’s (NSCAA) South regional rankings and is receiving votes in its national poll.
“We really like where this team is at physically, mentally and emotionally,” said Vanderbilt head coach Ronnie Woodard. “We need to keep building on the success that we have had and can’t rest on the recent results. It’s a long season and we will need to continue to improve every day as our competition gets more and more difficult.”
Freshman midfielder Chelsea Stewart was named to Top Drawer Soccer’s National Team of the Week after scoring both game-winning goals against the Bruins and Sooners. The Highlands Ranch, Colo., native has scored a goal in three straight games, tying her for the team lead in that category. In Sunday’s win over OU, she broke a 1-1 tie in the second half propelling VU on to a 3-1 win.
Junior midfielder Molly Kinsella continues to pick up where she left off the last two seasons as the Commodores leading scorer. She was named the Southeastern Conference’s Offensive Player of the Week after accounting for two goals and three assists in the two wins. She scored a goal and added assists on the other two scores in VU’s 3-0 win over Belmont. The Memphis native came through again on Sunday, when the Dores trailed for the first time all season. Two minutes after OU took a 1-0 lead in the first half, Kinsella headed in a goal to tie the game and later assisted on another. She leads the Commodores in scoring with three goals and four assists (10 points). It is the first time Kinsella has received the offensive award from the SEC and the second weekly award she has garnered from the league after receiving Freshman of the Week plaudits once in the 2007 season.
“Both Molly and Chelsea are really coming into their own,” said Woodard. “I have been impressed with Molly’s ability to not only create scoring opportunities for herself, but also to create scoring chances for other players on our team. Chelsea just continues to get better and better. She is finding her game and her rhythm and getting more comfortable in our system. I like seeing the chemistry between the two of them in the central midfield.”
Vanderbilt hits the road for the first time this season at the Auburn Soccer Classic in Auburn, Ala. VU will face Texas Tech on Friday at 4:30 p.m. and will then take on Missouri on Sunday at noon before returning home.