Commodores fall to Ole Miss on Senior Night

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The Vanderbilt soccer team’s hopes of making the SEC Tournament were dashed on Sunday night.

The Commodores surrendered two goals in the second half in a 2-1 loss to Ole Miss at the VU Soccer/Lacrosse Complex on Senior Night.

The loss eliminated Vanderbilt (7-9-2, 2-6-2 SEC) from SEC Tournament contention. With just one game left – on Thursday at No. 8 Florida – the Commodores have eight points. They were chasing Ole Miss (8-5-5, 5-3-3), which now has 13 points and is alone in 10th place. The top 10 teams make the SEC Tournament in Orange Beach, Ala.

“Frustrating loss for us, obviously,” Vanderbilt coach Derek Greene said. “We wanted to get these seniors to Orange Beach. I thought we played well enough to win. For probably 70 minutes of the game we were the better team. I thought we were dangerous all night. We really couldn’t be stopped. We kind of stopped ourselves unfortunately. I thought they played hard… Our team kept fighting and kept believing. Unfortunately, the result didn’t go our way.”

Simone Charley put VU ahead 1-0 with a goal in the 47th minute. The sophomore received the ball outside of the box and dribbled all the way in past several defenders before uncorking her team-high eighth goal over Ole Miss goalkeeper Kelly McCormick.

But the Rebels quickly tied the game, scoring in the 54th minute. Bethany Bunker sailed a shot in from the right side, out of reach of Vanderbilt goalkeeper Christiana Ogunsami.

The game stayed tied for nearly 30 minutes before Ole Miss scored the game-winner. On a free kick after a Vanderbilt yellow card, Jessica Hiskey snuck a shot around a wall of Commodore defenders and off the hand of Ogunsami.

The Commodores had 13 shots, including eight before halftime. Charley led the team with five, including two on goal. But Charley left the game with 25 minutes remaining due to a knee injury. She returned briefly late in the game before subbing out.

With their parents, siblings and friends and family on hand, Vanderbilt’s seven seniors – Cherrelle Jarrett, Taylor Richardson, Gena Inbusch, Ashley Oswald, Taylor Elliott, Ashley Vega and Brittney Thomas – were honored before they took the field for their last home game.

All seven seniors started, with Elliott and Vega making the first starts of their career. Oswald made her first start of the season and saw her first action since Sept. 14. She played in six games to begin the season before doctors discovered a blood clot on her lung. The athletic training staff cleared Oswald to make the start and Vanderbilt coach Derek Greene put her in the lineup. Oswald was replaced by Lydia Simmons in the third minute as the Commodore fans loudly acknowledged Oswald as she headed off the field.

“This senior class is the first one that really, completely all the way through – every kid – has just put it in, every day as much as they could,” Greene said. “These kids kept coming out to the field early, kept coming out on their own. They put the work in. I will tell you the team responded for them. I appreciate the seniors and what they did for this group. The team loves them and believes in them. This is the most tightly connected team we’ve had here since we’ve gotten here. Just really proud of it.”

Vanderbilt now heads to No. 8 Florida on Thursday for a 6 p.m. tilt on SEC Network to cap off the season.