Oct. 13, 2017
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NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The Vanderbilt Commodores are looking to bounce back following their loss to No. 9 Florida this past weekend. The Dores will have another stiff challenge ahead of them as they head to Columbia, S.C. to face No. 3 South Carolina Sunday afternoon. The match begins at 4 pm CT and will be the Commodores second of three that will be aired on the SEC Network.
Head coach Darren Ambrose has liked what he has seen from the team in practice following last week’s defeat.
“They have been very, very good this week,” said Ambrose. “The expectations for our group are higher and we let ourselves down a little bit against Florida. So they were challenged and I have to be honest with you, the practice after that morning was as good as we could have asked for. Their attitude was great, their work ethic was great, and they were competing. The tactical stuff that we were trying to do was being done so it has been a great couple of days for us.”
Last Sunday, the Commodores feel behind early to the Gators in the eighth minute but upped the pressure and controlled much of the play for the remaining 30 minutes of the half. In the 32nd minute the Dores thought they had found the equalizer when Lydia Simmons sent a cross in and Olivia Simmons sent a header to a wide-open Grace Jackson. Jackson fired her opportunity past the UF keeper for the goal but it was waived off as Jackson was ruled offside.
In the second half, the Gators got their second goal off a counter-attack in the 60th minute and added an insurance goal off a penalty kick with less than 10 minutes remaining to seal the 3-0 win. The loss ended the Commodores seven-game unbeaten streak.
Scouting the Gamecocks:
South Carolina enters Sunday’s match with a 12-1-0 record and 6-0-0 in conference play. The Gamecocks carry a 10 game winning streak into Sunday’s match with the Commodores. Last Sunday, the Gamecocks went on the road and defeated Arkansas 2-0 in Fayetteville. It was the fifth SEC opponent that South Carolina had no conceded a goal to this season.
Elexa Bahr and Savannah McCaskill lead the Gamecocks in goals with five while McCaskill has the team lead in assists (7) and points (17). Mika Krzeczowski has started all 13 games for the Gamecocks, made 35 saves and has only allowed seven goals for a 0.54 goals against average which leads the SEC.
Vanderbilt holds a 14-5-5 overall record against South Carolina with the last two matchups going to overtime. Last season, the No. 2 ranked Gamecocks won an overtime match 2-1 in Nashville. Sydney O’Donnell got the equalizer for the Commodores with two seconds left in regulation but Daija Griffin got the game-winner in the first overtime for the Gamecocks. Back in 2015, the Commodores upset No. 8 South Carolina in Columbia. The Dores trailed 1-0 but Taylor Elliott tied the game in the second half and Simone Charley had the game-winner in the first overtime period.