Sept. 3, 2015
Game Notes | Ambrose Interview | Dartmouth Live Stream | Lipscomb Live Stream
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – After traveling more than 6,383 miles round trip for the last three games, the Vanderbilt soccer team gladly returns to the Music City to start a four-game homestand.
The first half of that stint begins this weekend with games at the VU Soccer/Lacrosse Complex against Dartmouth at 7 p.m. on Friday, and crosstown rival Lipscomb at 2:30 p.m. on Sunday. Both games will be aired on SEC Network + and can be listened to on VandyRadio.com.
Vanderbilt (1-3) arrives home after a long two-game trip to the state of Washington. The Commodores left last Thursday morning and didn’t return until Monday afternoon, splitting a pairing of games against Gonzaga and Seattle University.
Vanderbilt picked up its first win of the season – and the first for first-year coach Darren Ambrose – with a 3-2 victory in overtime against Gonzaga in Spokane, Wash. But the Commodores fell behind quickly at Seattle and never recovered, allowing three first-half goals in a 3-1 loss.
Vanderbilt jumped back into practice on Tuesday afternoon and is hoping to shake off jet lag and the sting of Sunday’s loss as two tough non-conference foes come to town.
“It has been a short week. It was a long trip,” Ambrose said. “Getting back Monday afternoon was tough on everyone. It takes a couple of days. But their work ethic has been good – Tuesday in particular, considering we were only 24 hours removed from being on the West Coast. It was good. So, so far so good. Everyone is excited to play again. What I love about college soccer is you’ve played a game and then you get to turn around and play again. That is what we are all about here so we’re ready to go.”
SCOUTING THE COMPETITION
The Commodores come back home to host a pair of non-conference games. They welcome Dartmouth on Friday night and end the weekend with Lipscomb on Sunday.
Dartmouth is 1-0 after starting its season with a 2-0 victory over Marist last weekend. The Big Green went 8-5-4 overall and second place in the Ivy League with a 3-1-3 mark. Vanderbilt is 1-1 against Dartmouth, with the ‘Dores winning the last meeting in 2006. The Big Green are familiar foes for Vanderbilt coach Darren Ambrose, who spent the last 15 years in the Ivy League as the head coach of Penn.
Crosstown rival Lipscomb is off to a hot start at 3-0-2. The Bisons have not allowed a goal all season – holding opponents scoreless for 490 minutes. This includes 0-0 double overtime ties against Tennessee and Cincinnati. Anna Buhigas has made 26 saves, out of 29 shots on goal, and posted five shutouts. Maycie McKay leads the team with three goals. Vanderbilt is 1-0 against Lipscomb, with the teams’ only meeting coming last year with a 1-0 victory for the Commodores.
WEEKLY REPORT
Vanderbilt split a road trip to the state of Washington last weekend.
On Friday, the Commodores picked up their first win of the season with a 3-2 victory over Gonzaga in overtime. Simone Charley scored two goals, including the game-winner in the 94th minute. Vanderbilt led 2-0 at halftime as Cristina De Zeeuw scored the first goal of the season in the 10th minute.
But Gonzaga tied the game up with a goal in the 90th minute. Charley ended it in overtime when Keegan Thimons sent a pass up the sideline and Charley raced to the ball, finishing it with a shot into the far corner. Sasha Gray and Lydia Simmons also had assists.
Vanderbilt fell 3-1 to Seattle University on Sunday, allowing three goals in the first half. The Commodores scored on an own goal in the 87th minute, but it was too little, too late as they fell to 1-3. Goalkeepers Christiana Ogunsami and Shannon Morrish combined for three saves as Morrish made her first appearance of the season.
GLIMPSE OF THE ‘DORES
Vanderbilt is in its 29th women’s soccer season.
The Commodores return 15 letterwinners and eight starters from a team that went 7-10-2 overall and 2-7-2 in SEC play. Among those returning are All-SEC junior forward Simone Charley, who led the team with nine goals last year, and midfielder Lydia Simmons, who was named SEC All-Freshman. Goalkeeper Christiana Ogunsami also returns after starting all 19 games as a freshman and leading the SEC with 113 saves.
In addition to Ogunsami, senior captain Erin Myers, senior Kelsey Tillman and junior Claire Anderson started all 19 games in 2014. Myers, a midfielder/defender, has started all 58 games of her career.
The Commodores return 56 percent of last year’s goal scorers. Both goalkeepers are back, as Ogunsami and senior Shannon Morrish combined for six shutouts.
The squad welcomes eight newcomers. Six freshmen arrive, plus a pair of transfers from the ACC  defender Danae O’Halloran from North Carolina and midfielder Kacy Scarpa, who played for national champ Florida State.
AMBROSE ERA BEGINS
Darren Ambrose begins his first year at Vanderbilt as the sixth head coach in program history. He spent the last 15 years as head coach at Penn, where he was the winningest coach in program history with 148 wins. He also guided the Quakers to three NCAA Tournaments, three Ivy League championships, while never having a losing season. With his first Vanderbilt win over Gonzaga on Aug. 28, he is just one win away from notching his 150th career victory. The 44-year-old from England has been a coach for the last 20 years, serving on staffs as Florida State, Connecticut and Rhodes College. He is no stranger to Tennessee as he received his master’s degree from Memphis, starting his coaching career at Rhodes College and was active in youth soccer in Memphis, leading the Memphis FC ’81 girls team to a state title and the Dana Cup championship in Denmark in 1998.
DOUBLE THREAT
Simone Charley enters the second half of what has so far been a superb two-sport college career. The 5-foot-8 junior forward from Hoover, Ala., leads active VU players with 16 career goals, including a team-high nine last year.
She accounted for seven of the team’s nine goals in league play and scored six goals in her last six games. She was named First Team All-SEC and All-South Region Second Team last year. Against Gonzaga on Aug. 28, she scored her first two goals of the season, including the game-winner in overtime.
Charley also is a standout on the track as a three-time All-American. She placed fourth at the NCAA Indoor Championships and then reached the podium at the NCAA Outdoor Championships with a third-place finish in June. In the process, she leapt 44-3.25, breaking her own school record.
TASTING THE WORLD CUP
The Commodores were represented at the Women’s World Cup in June in Canada.
Redshirt junior Lina Granados made the 23-player roster for Colombia and traveled with the team during its four games. Colombia advanced out of pool play for the first time and fell to the United States, the eventual champ.
Granados hails from Ashburn, Va., but has dual citizenship as she was born in Bogota, Colombia. She has played for the Colombia Football Federation since she was 15, and has played in international tournaments three times. She made her first career start against Seattle University on Aug. 30.
NEW FACES MAKE DEBUTS
Six newcomers have made their Vanderbilt debuts already.
ACC transfers, defender Danae O’Halloran (North Carolina) and midfielder Kacy Scarpa (Florida State) have started all four games. Three freshmen have also made their Commodore debuts. Midfielder Kelsey Carrier has come off the bench in all four games, defender/midfielder Maggie Clemmons has played in three games and defender Megan Henry played in her first collegiate on Aug. 30 against Seattle University.
Redshirt sophomore Carley Bogan also played against Seattle University. This came just five days after she joined the team on Aug. 25. Bogan, a Pittsburgh, Pa. native, was added as a walk-on. This is her first year at Vanderbilt after she transferred from William & Mary, where she played in 2013.
MORRISH BEGINS NURSING SCHOOL
Senior goalkeeper Shannon Morrish will be juggling not only soccer and her final year of undergraduate studies this fall but also nursing school.
Morrish, a native of Bradenton, Fla., entered Vanderbilt University’s School of Nursing on Aug. 17. She is pursuing a master’s degree in adult/gerontology acute care. She’ll be a registered nurse after the first year and complete the requirements to be certified as a nurse practitioner by May 2017.
SEC PRESEASON PLAYERS TO WATCH
Five Vanderbilt players were selected as preseason players to watch.
Junior forward Simone Charley (nine goals, three assists in 2014), redshirt sophomore midfielder Lydia Simmons (three assists), sophomore defender Cristina De Zeeuw (one assist), senior midfielder Erin Myers (one goal) and sophomore forward/midfielder Sasha Gray (one goal, one assist) were all chosen.