Soccer drops a heartbreaker to Samford in 2OT

HOMEWOOD, Ala. – After netting the equalizer in the 69th minute, the Vanderbilt women’s soccer team fought hard for the next 39 minutes until Samford put one in the back of the net off the foot of Michelle Moll to secure the 3-2, double overtime, win.

“We knew going into the game it’d be a battle with Samford. They are a great team and they are very well coached,” said VU head coach Derek Greene. “They did a good job of putting a lot of numbers behind us making it tough on our forwards to get open looks. We also should have played more direct in the first half, we did in the second half and it payed off.”

The with the loss the Commodores drop to 2-3-2 on the season, with their final non-conference game against Georgia State coming up on Sunday.

Samford got on the board first, but Vanderbilt answered in the 34th minute. Simone Charley took the first of her two shots on the night but it was deflected out but Claire Romaine was there from seven yards out to clean up and put the ball in the back of the net.

The Bulldogs would go up right before the half when Trine Taule got to a loose ball in the box and finished from 10 yards out over the head of Vandy keeper Olivia Liebman.

Vanderbilt held Samford scoreless in the second half of play and scored the equalizer in the 69th minute to tie the game at two. Cheyna Williams scored her seventh of the season when she gathered the ball from 12 yards out and rifled the ball into the back of the net beating the Samford keeper.

Both teams would go back and forth for the remainder of the half into the first overtime, neither team able to capitalize on their opportunities.

“We didn’t create as many opportunities to scores as we would have liked, but when we did create them we weren’t able to capitalize,” Greene said. “They [Samford] worked hard all night to get back and defend us.”

Then with just two minutes remaining in the game Samford was awarded a free kick from 25 yards out. The shot was sent deep into the box and glanced off a Vandy defender before Moll snuck the ball past Liebman, handing the Commodores a heartbreaking loss.

The `Dores will travel back to the friendly confines of the VU Soccer Complex for their final non-conference game against Georgia State. The game gets underway at 1:00 pm.