Oct. 26, 2016
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The Vanderbilt soccer team wraps up regular season play this Thursday, traveling down to Tuscaloosa, Ala. to face the Alabama Crimson Tide. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. CT with the match broadcast on SEC Network+.
Heading into the Thursday night’s tilt, Hannon Eberts, Grace Jackson and Jackie Welch lead the Commodores on the attacking end of the field with five goals each. Jackson leads the ‘Dores with six assists and 16 points while Boyd and redshirt-junior Lydia Simmons lead the team in shots with 28.
Freshman Lauren Demarchi has started four straight SEC contests for the black and gold making 16 saves in 400 minutes, including three saves in last Sunday’s win over Ole Miss.
With their spot in the SEC tournament cemented, the Commodores look for a win over Alabama and a tie or loss from Tennessee to secure the sixth seed and extra day of rest. A Vanderbilt loss would place VU in the seventh seed.
Last Time Out
In their final two home matches, the Commodores fell to No. 2 South Carolina in a thrilling overtime matchup and then stormed past Ole Miss, 4-1. Freshman Sydney O’Donnell tied the Thursday night tilt against the Gamecocks in the last two seconds of regulation, but Carolina sealed the 2-1 victory in the 96th minute.
After falling behind the Rebels early on Sunday, O’Donnell leveled the match to begin an influx of offensive opportunities. All four of Vandy’s goals in the final home game came from players off the bench.
With the victory, the Commodores improved to 9-7-1 and secured their first consecutive overall winning seasons since 2008 and 2009. Vanderbilt now heads to T-Town with 35 goals on the season, the most since 2013 when the ‘Dores scored 37.
Scouting the Crimson Tide
Alabama heads into the last game of the regular season boasting an 8-7-2 (3-5-2) record overall. UA is coming off a 6-0 loss to No. 20 Florida last Thursday and a 0-0 double overtime draw against LSU on Sunday. Bama’s three conference victories came over Tennessee (5-1), Texas A&M (2-1) and Georgia (3-1).
Two Tide players, Lacey Clarida and Abbie Boswell, have six-plus goals on the season, with Boswell generating a team-high seven assists and 19 points. The Alabama defense has helped record four shutout victories in front of goalkeeper Kat Stratton. Stratton has started every competition this season and has 74 saves.
Vanderbilt leads the all-time series against Alabama, 11-5-4.