Oct. 15, 2015
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Riding a four-game unbeaten streak fueled by outstanding defense, the Vanderbilt soccer team hits the road for another Top 10 challenge.
No. 8 South Carolina awaits the Commodores at 6 p.m. on Friday in Columbia, S.C. on SEC Network +. The Gamecocks (11-2-1, 5-1-1 SEC) sit atop the league standings and represent the fourth ranked opponent this season for Vanderbilt. The ‘Dores tied No. 20 Kentucky last Friday, and suffered one-goal losses to then-No. 5 Texas A&M and then-No. 9 Florida.
Vanderbilt (6-5-4, 2-2-3) hasn’t lost since the Sept. 25 setback to Florida. Since then, the Commodores have rattled off three straight ties and a victory over Arkansas on Sunday to propel to ninth place in the SEC standings. This is significant as, with just four regular-season games remaining, the top 10 teams in the league make the SEC Tournament, which Vanderbilt hasn’t reached since 2010.
The ‘Dores have relied on solid defense during its current four-game unbeaten streak, which matches the team’s longest such stretch this season. Vanderbilt has posted three straight shutouts and last allowed a goal 35 seconds into the second half of a 1-1 draw against Tennessee on Sept. 27. The current streak of 375 consecutive minutes without allowing a goal is the team’s longest since 2009.
For her part, goalkeeper Christiana Ogunsami was named the SEC Co-Defensive Player of the Week on Monday. The 5-foot-11 sophomore from Cherry Hill, N.J., made 10 saves and posted two shutouts during the four-point weekend.
“When things aren’t going as well as we want them on the attacking side, the defending team has done a great job of lifting everyone up,” assistant coach Ken Masuhr said. “When kids are willing to make physical sacrifices, and put themselves on the line to stop balls from being shot, and crosses, tackling hard – all those things that go into defending – when they’re willing to do that, I think you’re going to have momentum swings.”
SCOUTING THE COMPETITION
Vanderbilt hits the road for the third straight Friday to play its third Top 10 team in five weeks in No. 8 South Carolina.
The Gamecocks (11-2-1, 5-1-1 SEC) are coming off their first league loss after being shut out by Ole Miss 2-0 on the road Sunday. USC is led by Savannah McCaskill, who is tied for fifth in the SEC with nine goals. Chelsea Drennan is the league’s top distributor with eight assists.
USC leads the SEC with 34 assists, ranks third with 35 goals and is tied for fifth with just 13 goals allowed. The Gamecocks also rank third in the nation in attendance with 3,083 fans a game at Stone Stadium.
Vanderbilt is 13-4-5 all-time against USC, but hasn’t picked up a victory in the series since 2008. The teams tied 1-1 last year in Nashville.
OGUNSAMI HONORED BY SEC
Vanderbilt goalkeeper Christiana Ogunsami was rewarded for her stingy work in front of the net when she was named the SEC Co-Defensive Player of the Week on Monday.
Ogunsami made 10 saves and registered two shutouts over the weekend in a scoreless tie against No. 20 Kentucky on the road and a 1-0 home victory over Arkansas.
The 5-foot-11 sophomore from Cherry Hill, N.J., is tied for second in the SEC in saves (62), second in save percentage (.816), third in saves per game (4.13), fourth in shutouts (five) and sixth in goals against average (0.94).
WEEKLY REPORT
Vanderbilt had its best weekend in SEC play this season by earning four points. The ‘Dores held No. 20 Kentucky scoreless for a tie on the road for one point on Friday, and then returned home to post a 1-0 victory over Arkansas on Sunday for three points.
Against UK, Vanderbilt’s defense withstood an attack of 25 shots, including nine on goal. Goalkeeper Christiana Ogunsami made eight saves, including four in the two overtime periods and a massive stop in the 108th minute, to preserve the team’s fourth shutout.
The shutout streak continued on Sunday. Simone Charley scored her fourth goal of the season, but first in an exactly a month, in the 12th minute. Redshirt sophomore transfer Danae O’Halloran recorded her first assist in a Vanderbilt uniform. She sent a cross into the box that went off an Arkansas defender and bounced to Charley, who finished the shot just inside the near post.
The goal stood up as the Razorbacks mustered just seven shots, had a goal waved off due to offsides and missed a penalty kick. Ogunsami made two saves and the defense posted its third straight shutout and fifth of the year.
STINGY DEFENSE
The Commodores are currently in the middle of its longest stretch of holding their opponents scoreless since 2009.
VU hasn’t allowed a goal since a 1-1 draw to Tennessee on Sept. 27, for a span of 375 minutes, more than two weeks and four games.
Three consecutive shutouts are the most since 2011 and the most in succession in SEC play in six years.
SIM CITY
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 18 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. Her four goals this season (three game winners) are tied for the most on the team. She also has a team-high three assists to lead the squad with 11 points.
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.
SIMMONS EMERGES AS SCORING THREAT
Midfielder Lydia Simmons earned SEC All-Freshman honors last year for her work as a field general and as the team’s top distributor with three assists. But this year she has also emerged as a scoring threat.
Simmons leads the team with four goals and nine points. Before this season, she hadn’t scored a goal.
The redshirt sophomore from Londonderry, N.H., booted her first career goal in a 1-0 victory against Dartmouth on Sept. 4. She followed up the next weekend with another goal from just outside the box in a 2-1 victory over Mississippi State. On Sept. 13, she tied she hooked in a corner kick in a 1-1 tie against High Point. She then scored her team-high fourth goal of the season on Sept. 25 against Florida with a shot with her right foot in the 27th minute.
TASTING THE WORLD CUP
Redshirt junior Lina Granados made the 23-player roster for Colombia at the Women’s World Cup in June in Canada 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 has made her first five career starts in the last five games.
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.
CAPTAIN CONSISTENCY
Since the start of the 2012 season, there has been one constant in the Commodores’ lineup  Erin Myers.
The senior, who has played midfield and now center back, has started every game of her career. The three-year captain has started all 73 games.
Coach Darren Ambrose calls Myers, a native of Armonk, N.Y., the “heart and soul” of the team as she is one of the most vocal leaders.
NEW FACES MAKE DEBUTS
Eight players have made their Vanderbilt debuts this season.
Transfers Danae O’Halloran (North Carolina) and Kacy Scarpa (Florida State) have started 15 and 14 games, respectively.
Freshman Kelsey Carrier has played in all 15 games, and made her second career start against Arkansas. Freshman Brook Colangelo played in her first two games of the season after returning from an offseason injury.
Fellow freshmen Maggie Clemmons, Megan Henry and Hannah Menard have made their VU debuts but are currently sidelined due to injury.
Sophomore Carley Bogan (William & Mary transfer) has played in five games after joining the team after the first week of the season.