Sept. 18, 2015
Ambrose Interview | Scarpa Interview
COLLEGE STATION, Texas – Against one of the best teams in the country, in a hostile environment and on a nationally televised stage, the Vanderbilt soccer team sent a warning to the rest of the Southeastern Conference.
The Commodores put together arguably one of their best performances of the season, falling just short in a 1-0 loss to No. 5 Texas A&M on Friday night in front of 2,851 fans at Ellis Field and many more watching around the nation on the SEC Network.
The Aggies, a Final Four team a year ago, scored in the 70th minute to hold off the upset-minded Commodores and snap their four-game unbeaten streak.
“I think it shows, listen, we’re for real and we’re a good team,” Vanderbilt’s first-year coach Darren Ambrose said. “We’re building something that is going to go on and on here. I think we made a bit of a statement in the way we played the game and what we’re capable of.”
Vanderbilt outshot the Aggies 12-9 (with seven shots on goal) and won the corner kick battle 8-2. The Commodores created seven corner kick opportunities before A&M registered its first. Redshirt sophomore Lydia Simmons led the way with four shots, while Lina Granados, Jamie Kator and Kacy Scarpa each had two shots.
The performance caught the attention of Texas A&M coach G Guerrieri, who spoke highly of the Commodores afterwards on SEC Network.
“Vandy played great. Vandy didn’t deserve to lose that game,” Guerrieri said. “Our girls found a way to win the game… Credit Vanderbilt with a great effort.”
From the start, Vanderbilt (4-4-1, 1-1 SEC) controlled possession and snuffed out opportunities by the Aggies, who made the Final Four a year ago and swept the SEC regular-season and tournament titles. The league’s second highest scoring offense had just four shots at halftime.
“Not often do you come down to an environment like this and play a team like that and can say you walk off having had arguably the best chances to win the game and actually lose the game,” Ambrose said. “I’m thrilled with the way we played. I thought everything we talked about the girls did. We created a ton of chances. We defended incredibly well. We limited their shots, their corners and their set piece opportunities – and created a ton of our own. When you believe and you see that display, it hurts that much more to walk away with a loss. The silver lining is that we did play well.”
In the first half, Vanderbilt outshot the Aggies 9-4. The Commodores created chances with six corner kicks, precision passing, strong field awareness and great runs. About 15 minutes in, Sasha Gray and Simone Charley peppered A&M goalkeeper Taylor Saucier with back-to-back shots just inside the box and Simmons threatened with long-range kicks. Kator also got in on the action with a shot that went a high and a header off a corner kick from Simmons that bounced to Saucier.
In the 31st minute, Charley created one of the team’s best opportunities by sprinting on the far side and sending a pass into the middle of the box. Gray was there on the run, but the ball just scooted by her. Simmons corralled the ball and attempted a shot with her left foot that went high.
The Commodores’ best look came less than minute into the second half off another corner kick from Simmons. After a deflection off of Simmons’ kick, Scarpa raced in and nailed a shot that bounced off the top of the right post.
Defensively, the back line of captain Erin Myers, Cristina De Zeeuw, Kelsey Tillman and Danae O’Halloran was superb. With slide tackles, crisp passes and smart decision-making, the Commodores’ defense thwarted the Aggies’ chances most of the night. A&M put six shots on goal, and goalkeeper Christiana Ogunsami made five saves.
“It’s tough to completely limit a team with that much firepower, but overall I thought we did a good job of that,” Ambrose said. “Several of their chances came from balls that we needlessly gave away.”
Texas A&M (8-1, 2-0 SEC) scored with 20 minutes left. Haley Pounds sent in a cross from the right side, 25 yards out and into the box. The ball bounced into the box and past Texas A&M’s Ally Watt, who tried to deflect the shot. The run by Watt threw off the Commodores as the ball slipped into the bottom left corner. It was the team’s first loss since falling to Seattle University on Aug. 30.
Vanderbilt returns to Nashville to wrap-up their non-conference schedule while starting a three-game homestand. The Commodores host Evansville (2-6-1) at 4 p.m. on Sunday on a game that will be broadcast on SEC Network +.