'Dores fall to Missouri on Senior Day

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – With one team battling for a spot in the SEC Tournament and the other vying for an SEC crown, Vanderbilt and Missouri slugged it out on a rainy, windy Sunday afternoon.

Unfortunately for the Commodores, Missouri’s goal in the 49th minute stood up in a 1-0 loss at the VU Soccer Complex on Senior Day in the final home game of the season. Vanderbilt (7-7-4, 3-4-3 SEC) will now have to wait until Thursday at No. 13 Ole Miss to try to clinch a spot in the 10-team SEC Tournament. As of Sunday night, the Commodores were tied in eighth place in the league standings.

The Commodores played even all game with Missouri (9-7-4, 7-2-1), which can clinch at least a share of the SEC regular-season championship on Thursday. But Reagan Russell’s goal less than four minutes out of halftime proved to be the difference.

“My heart is broken for our kids right now. I thought we were fantastic,” Vanderbilt coach Darren Ambrose said. “That is a first-place team playing to stay in first place. I thought in the first half we played around them. I thought we dominated possession. They had a couple of moments because of the way they play. Again, that is going to happen when you play that caliber of a team. But I thought overall our kids gave absolutely everything they could have given today. That’s why this hurts a lot more.”

Vanderbilt kept Missouri at bay for most of the game, especially the fist half. The Tigers had just three shots before halftime and none on goal. On the flip side, Vanderbilt had five shots at the break, putting the pressure on with shots on goal from Erin Myers and Lina Granados.

But Missouri grabbed momentum early in the second half. The Tigers’ Kaitlyn Clark kept the ball in play near the end line and sent a pass into the box. Russell got a foot on it despite pressure from the Vanderbilt defense and laced a shot over goalkeeper Christiana Ogunsami and into the bottom left corner.

Lydia Simmons nearly tied it up in the 55th minute but her long-distance shot clanged off the crossbar. Teammate Taylor Elliott was there for the second-chance shot, but her header was stopped by Missouri goalkeeper Kristen Rivers. The Commodores had just two shots the rest of the game as Simone Charley’s header in the 67th minute went to Rivers and Elliott sent a shot high over the goal in the 72nd minute.

Missouri won the shooting battle 12-10. Both keepers stepped up as Rivers made five saves and Ogunsami had six stops for the Commodores. Vanderbilt loss back-to-back games for the first time since starting the season 0-2. Despite the loss, though, the Commodores finished its home schedule with a 5-4-2 record for their most wins at home since 2011.

Vanderbilt also honored its seven seniors before the game. Andie Lakin, Erin Myers, Kelsey Tillman, Keegan Thimons, Taylor Elliott, Shannon Morrish and Jamie Kator walked out with family members and were recognized on the field by athletic director David Williams and the coaching staff.

The Commodores close out the regular season at Ole Miss at 6 p.m. on Thursday. The game can be seen on SEC Network +.