Charley's late goal lifts 'Dores to first SEC win

STARKVILLE, Miss. – With October halfway over, the Vanderbilt soccer team knows time is running out in order to achieve its goal and reach the SEC Tournament.

On Friday night, the Commodores catapulted themselves into the hunt with a huge win – their first in SEC play this year.

Simone Charley headed in a corner kick by Lydia Simmons to propel VU to a 1-0 road victory over Mississippi State on Friday night. The win snapped a four-game losing streak and was Vanderbilt’s first victory since defeating Chattanooga on Sept. 14 six games ago. It was also their first SEC win since defeating Mississippi State last October.

“This was a huge win,” Vanderbilt coach Derek Greene said. “Obviously, there are several of us that know it is crunch time to get into the SEC Tournament. We knew that coming into this game against Mississippi State. I was very proud of the way we moved the ball in our possession. I’d like for us to play with a little more urgency a little earlier on, just understanding the situation we are in right now. But we have played pretty well throughout the SEC season and not have had any results to show for it. Tonight, I’m just really happy for these kids. They deserve this.”

The Commodores (6-8-1, 1-5-1 SEC) dominated the tempo with 19 shots. Charley and Simmons each had six shots, with Charley putting five shots on goal.

Charley scored her fifth goal of the season (tied for the most on the team) in the 78th minute. The sophomore forward ran and leaped into a cross on a corner kick from Simmons and headed the ball into the top of the net. In two years, Charley has 10 goals, which leads all current VU players. It was the second assist of the season for Simmons, a redshirt freshman.

“It was an awesome cross from Lydia,” Charley said. “She put it right where she needed to. They kind of dropped back. They didn’t really follow runners. They stayed on the six(-yard line). Because she put it off of them I was able to run on and connect. It was an awesome ball by her. I knew I got pretty good power on it as soon as it hit my head. I guess because I had a better angle as far as looking at it, I could tell it was going in before everyone else could. I got really excited right before anyone realized it was going in.”

Vanderbilt notched its fifth shutout of the season against the Bulldogs (3-11, 0-7). Freshman goalkeeper Christiana Ogunsami, fresh off tying a school-record with 15 saves against No. 10 Texas A&M last week, posted her fourth shutout. Ogunsami finished with seven saves.

Greene also lauded the efforts of midfielders Erin Myers and Andie Lakin and the entire back line of Taylor Richarson, Claire Anderson, Cherrelle Jarrett and Kelsey Tillman for thwarting the attempts of Mississippi State. The Bulldogs had only nine shots.

“We talked about you have to find a way to win these tight games,” Greene said. “We started pressing more. I think that was good for us to do that and just have a little more energy in the attacking half of the field… I was really proud of the play of Andie Lakin and Erin Myers in the midfield. Really our entire back four made some really good decisions tonight both offensively and defensively. Just really proud of them pretty much denying Mississippi State any opportunities other than a couple long-range shots.”

It was Vanderbilt’s second road win of the season and first since a 2-1 victory over Memphis on Aug. 31. The Commodores now have six wins – their most since winning eight in 2011.

The win gave Vanderbilt three points for a total of four points in the SEC standings and tied for 12th with LSU. The top 10 teams reach the SEC Tournament in Orange Beach, Ala. With four games remaining, the Commodores will keep trying to move up the ladder when they play in-state rival Tennessee (7-7-1, 2-4-1) at 5 p.m. on Sunday in Knoxville on SEC Network+. The Vols are alone in 10th place with seven points after defeating LSU on Friday night. Auburn sits in 11th place with six points after losing to Texas A&M on Friday.

“Of course, it is a rivalry game (against Tennessee) so that already motivates us,” Charley said. “But just the fact that it is fight to make it to Orange Beach. It is really close right now and we need to win as many games as possible, especially against our rival. That would make it even better.”