GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Three first-half goals were too much for the Vanderbilt soccer team as its season came to a close.
The Commodores suffered a 6-1 loss to No. 8 Florida on Thursday night in the regular season finale at James G. Pressly Stadium after the game started 80 minutes late due to lightning in the area.
Vanderbilt (7-10-2, 2-7-2 SEC) couldn’t overcome a two-goal hole. The Gators, the defending Southeastern Conference champs, scored first with a goal in the fifth minute. They added a goal in the 33rd minute on a tap in just inside the post as the Commodores were trying to clear.
“We started slow after a delay and by the time we got going 20 minutes in we were down 1-0,” Vanderbilt coach Derek Greene said. “I thought we played pretty well after that. The most frustrating thing about the loss is how bad we were defending loose balls in the box. We weren’t tough enough. Their goals were not things of beauty. They were mostly balls played in the box and we didn’t do our job clearing them.”
Simone Charley briefly gave Vanderbilt a boost. The sophomore came off the bench after suffering a knee injury against Ole Miss on Sunday. In the 41st minute, she outraced two Florida defenders to receive a pass from Lydia Simmons and poked the ball away from goalkeeper Taylor Burke.
Charley then slid a goal in from about 10 yards out just inside the near post. It was her team-high ninth goal and her sixth goal in the last six games. It was the third assist of the season for Simmons, tying her for most on the team with Charley and Ashley Oswald.
But the Gators (14-4, 9-2) grabbed the momentum back in the 44th minute with a goal off a failed clear. Vanderbilt goalkeeper Christiana Ogunsami made a great effort on the shot but the ball ricocheted off her mitts and into the net just inside the post.
Florida tacked on three more goals in the second half, including their fifth goal when Charley was clutching her knee on the other side of the field just out of bounds near the goal. Charley helped to her feet and limped over to the bench. She did not return to the game. The Gators scored once more in the final minute.
Florida had 18 shots, compared to just four by Vanderbilt. Ogunsami made seven saves to finish the season with the 113 saves – the most in the SEC. The 113 saves by the freshman from Cherry Hill, N.J., are the second-most in a single season by a Vanderbilt keeper. Lauren Korff holds the record with 135 saves in 1991.
It was the final game for seven Vanderbilt seniors – two-year captain Cherrelle Jarrett, Taylor Richardson, Gena Inbusch, Taylor Elliott, Brittney Thomas, Ashley Vega and Ashley Oswald. Jarrett, Richardson and Inbusch all started. For Jarrett, it was her 76th career start – the most among active VU players. Richardson, who turned 22 on Thursday, made her 66th start and Inbusch made her 20th career start.
“I have been proud to be with this group of seniors and wish we could have sent them out on a high note,” Greene said. “They have helped change things for our program over the last couple of years as they have grown and learned to lead. These are going to be successful young women in life and we hope to make them proud in the future.”
Despite ending the season with two straight losses, the Commodores head into the offseason hopeful. The seven wins were the most by a Vanderbilt team in three years and they return nine of 11 starters, including five freshmen and sophomores.
