Sept. 20, 2014
Game Notes | Greene Interview | Richardson Interview
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Through eight games, the Vanderbilt soccer team has already significant strides.
The Commodores have won five games – more than all of last year. They’re undefeated at home at 4-0. They’ve won on the road. They’ve rallied from behind in the second half.
But on Sunday, they’ll face a bevy of new challenges.
The Southeastern Conference season begins on Sunday – on the road, against a ranked opponent. A test awaits Vanderbilt (5-3) when it opens SEC play on No. 24 Georgia at 2 p.m. (CST) on Sunday on a game televised on the SEC Network.
“We’ve played pretty well most of the year. We have to get to a different level when we go to SEC play,” coach Derek Greene said. “It is very difficult to win on the road in this league. When you do you feel like, ‘Hey, we stole one.’ It is also hard to go undefeated at home. Every now and then teams are going to pick road games off. We know if we can steal this that would be huge for us coming back home with three points.”
The Commodores are riding a two-game winning streak and will be trying to win their SEC opener for the first time since 2005.
SCOUTING GEORGIA
Vanderbilt heads to Athens, Ga., for the first time since 2012  the last time the programs met on the soccer field. The teams drew a scoreless tie in that matchup, which was also the SEC opener for the Commodores. In fact, Vanderbilt is looking for its first goal against Georgia since 3-2 loss in overtime on Oct. 12, 2007. The Bulldogs have held Vanderbilt scoreless the last five games. VU trails 9-10-1 all-time in the series.
Georgia (5-1-1) enters the game ranked No. 24 in the country and on a four-game winning streak. Similarily to Vanderbilt, the Bulldogs have been very stingy defensively lately. They’ve posted four shutouts this season, including three straight and last allowed a goal on Aug. 31.
Georgia is led by sophomore Gabby Seiler, who is the team’s leader in goals (five), assists (six) and points (16). She scored goals in five straight games earlier this season and currently has a seven-game point streak in tact. Freshman Louise Hogrell has played every minute in goal, making 21 saves and posting four shutouts as Georgia’s opponents have fired off only 69 shots through seven games.
‘DORES WEEKLY REPORT
Vanderbilt bounced back after a rough weekend in Texas with a pair of wins at home. The Commodores posted two consecutive shutouts in a 1-0 win over Lipscomb and a 6-0 win over Chattanooga. They haven’t allowed a goal in more than 201 minutes, the last coming in the 69th minute against North Texas on Sept. 7. In addition, Vanderbilt hasn’t allowed a first-half goal all season.
Against Lipscomb on Friday, senior Gena Inbusch scored her first goal of the season in the 43rd minute on an assist from fellow senior Ashley Oswald. The goal held up as Lipscomb managed just two shots after halftime. For Oswald, it was just the start of a great weekend as she added two more assists on Sunday against Chattanooga and scored her first goal of the season.
The ‘Dores scored six goals against the Mocs ÂÂ the program’s most since scoring six against Tennessee Tech on Sept. 9, 2007. Simone Charley, Colby Ciarrocca, Oswald, Inbusch, Taylor Elliott and Sasha Gray all scored. Vanderbilt used 28 players, including eight who made their season debut and six freshmen who played in their first game. Freshman goalkeeper Christiana Ogunsami started her eighth straight game and was relieved for the first time all season when Shannon Morrish came in the second half. The goalies combined for the team’s third shutout of the season.
WINS UP, ‘DORES PERFECT AT HOME
Already through eight games, Vanderbilt has more wins than it had all of last season. The Commodores are 5-3 as they begin SEC play. Last year, they finished the season 4-12-3 and entered league play 3-3-2. One more win will give Vanderbilt its most wins since the 2011 season when the team went 8-11.
Protecting the house, indeed. The Commodores are an impressive 4-0 at home this year. They also won their lone exhibition game against UAB on Aug. 14. The four wins are the most at home since 2011. And the Commodores last started a season 4-0 at home in 2009.
SHOOTING FRENZY
Vanderbilt put up some numbers that hadn’t been seen in a while when it blanked Chattanooga 6-0 on Sunday, Sept. 14.
The 47 shots were nearly double the Commodores’ previous season-high of 25 against Mercer and the most since Sept. 15, 2005 when they fired off 47 shots in a 1-0 win over Morehead State. In addition, sophomore forward Simone Charley’s 10 shots against the Mocs tied for the second most in a single game.
CIARROCCA’S BREAKOUT WEEKEND
Freshman Colby Ciarrocca emerged as a scoring threat after four goals in two games two weeks ago.
Ciarrocca was named the SEC Freshman of the Week and the Tennessee Sportswriters Association’s Player of the Week on Sept. 2. The Montgomery, N.J., native was honored after she scored two goals, including the game-tying and game-winning goals, in a 3-2 overtime win against Cincinnati on Aug. 29. Two days later, at Memphis, she scored twice more in a 2-1 win. They were the first four goals of her young career.
She scored her fifth on Sept. 14 against Chattanooga and currently leads the team in goals (five), points (10) and two game-winning goals.
OGUNSAMI NEAR TOP OF SEC CHARTS
It hasn’t taken Christiana Ogunsami long to rise to the top of the SEC charts. The freshman goalkeeper from Cherry Hill, N.J., ranks second in the league with 33 saves and is tied for fifth in save percentage (.786). The 5-foot-11 Ogunsami has started all eight games, made a career-high seven saves at Rutgers and has posted two shutouts.