Oct. 2, 2014
Game Notes | Greene Interview | Myers Interview
NASHVILLE, Tenn.  After two weekends of conference play, the Vanderbilt soccer team is still looking for its first SEC victory.
The Commodores hope that changes when they hit the road for a two-game swing this weekend.
Vanderbilt (5-5-1, 0-2-1 SEC) travels to play Arkansas at 7 p.m. on Friday and then heads up to Missouri for a 1 p.m. tilt on Sunday. Both games can be seen on SEC Network +.
“It would be awesome to get on the road and pull off six points,” Vanderbilt coach Derek Greene said. “We know that is going to be a great challenge and I think our kids are ready for that. We let a game get away from us on Sunday against Alabama unfortunately where we probably should have gotten three points out of that. But we didn’t. So we have to go battle and try to steal some points on the road. But every game in the SEC is huge.”
‘DORES WEEKLY REPORT
A two-game homestand saw the Commodores tie Auburn and lose 1-0 to Alabama. On Friday, Vanderbilt battled Auburn to a 0-0 tie in double overtime. After winning their first four home games and tying Auburn, the Commodores suffered their first loss of the season at the VU Soccer Complex.
Against Auburn, Vanderbilt survived a barrage of shots in the first half and put 10 shots on a goal. But none found the back of the net as the team tied for the first time all season. Freshman goalkeeper Christiana Ogunsami made a career-high nine saves. With the tie, Vanderbilt picked up its first point of the season and narrowly missed snagging three points for a win.
Vanderbilt fired off 25 shots  the second-most all season  against Alabama and had eight corner kicks but again couldn’t score.
The Crimson Tide netted the lone goal in the 61st minute to get the win. Ogunsami made eight saves and has only given up one goal in the last 203 minutes. But the Commodores are also struggling to score, going without a goal for more than 283 minutes, last scoring in a 3-1 loss to then-No. 24 Georgia on Sept. 21.
SCOUTING AUBURN AND ALABAMA
Vanderbilt hits the road this weekend and heads west to play Arkansas on Friday and Missouri on Sunday.
The Commodores are 18-8-2 against Arkansas but dropped last year’s meeting 5-4 in overtime. Vanderbilt has won its last two games in Fayetteville, including a 3-2 victory in double overtime in 2012. The Razorbacks (5-2-4, 1-0-2) are currently riding a five-game unbeaten streak, which is tied with Texas A&M for the longest in the SEC. Arkansas has two wins and three ties during that stretch and last weekend tied Ole Miss and LSU in double overtimes.
Arkansas has three players who have scored four goals  Ashleigh Ellenwood, Claire Kelley and Alexandra Fischer. Goalkeeper Cameron Carter is third in the SEC with 45 saves.
Missouri (7-2-2, 2-1) split a pair of games against ranked opponents last weekend. On Friday, the Tigers upset No. 14 South Carolina 1-0 on the road. But on Sunday, they dropped a 3-1 contest to No. 7 Florida.
The Tigers are led by Taylor Grant’s six goals and Kaysie Clark, who is tied for fourth in the country with nine assists. Goalkeeper McKenzie Sauerwein has posted four shutouts.
Vanderbilt is looking for its first win against Missouri as it holds an 0-2-3 record in the series. The teams tied last year in Nashville and Missouri won 2-0 in 2012 in its first year in the SEC.
WINS UP
Already through nine games, Vanderbilt has more wins than it had all of last season. The Commodores needed just eight games to win five this fall. 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.
STOUT FIRST HALF D’
Vanderbilt is the only team in the SEC that hasn’t allowed a goal in the first half this season. Through nine games, 71 shots have been fired against the Commodores in the opening 45 minutes but none have gotten past freshman goalkeeper Christiana Ogunsami and the Vanderbilt defense.