Oct. 18, 2017
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NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The Vanderbilt Commodores are in the middle of a grueling stretch to end conference play and it doesn’t get any easier this week. The Commodores are back home to face No. 11 Tennessee Thursday night at 7 pm CT at the VU Soccer Complex. Then, they hit the road to challenge No. 14 Texas A&M on Sunday at 1:30 pm CT. Both games will be broadcast on the SEC Network +.
The Commodores are coming off a 3-0 defeat to No. 3 South Carolina this past Sunday.
The Gamecocks took control early off a goal from Savannah McCaskill in the sixth minute. Less than two minutes later, it was McCaskill setting up a goal for the Gamecocks. She took advantage of a Commodore turnover and sent a through ball up to Elexa Bahr who beat Tolleson low for the goal.
In the second half, the Commodores had their best chance of the afternoon when Leila Azari started a run up the right side. She sent a cross into the box as Simone Charley came racing up the field. Charley beat both her defenders but SC’s keeper came out to deflect the cross and end the chance for the Dores.
South Carolina would get an insurance goal in the 80th minute to secure the 3-0 win.
Scouting the Volunteers:
Tennessee enters Thursday’s match with a 13-1-1 overall record, 5-1-1 in conference play and is currently ranked 11th in the country. The Vols won their only match this past week, a 4-0 home win over Georgia.
Khadija Shaw leads the conference in goals with 13 and holds the team lead in points with 30. Erin Gilroy is the team leader in assists with eight. Shae Yanez has started all 15 games in net, made 49 saves and has a 0.68 goals against average.
The Commodores hold a 11-9-4 all-time record against Tennessee. Vanderbilt won last year’s meeting 3-2 in a double overtime thriller in Knoxville. Brook Colangelo and Grace Jackson gave the Dores a 2-0 lead less than twenty minutes into the match. UT would tie the match in the 78th minute and sent it to extra time. Kaylann Boyd got past the defense to score the game-winner during the second overtime period.
Scouting the Aggies:
Texas A&M holds an 11-2-1 overall record, 6-1-0 in conference play and is ranked 14th in the country. They have a road test with LSU prior to Sunday’s match with the Commodores. The Aggies are coming off a 1-0 home win against Ole Miss last Friday.
Ally Watt leads the Aggies in goals (6) and points (14) while Cierra Arrieta is the team leader in assists with four. Cosette Morche has started all 14 games in net for the Aggies. She has made 44 saves on the year and has a 0.68 goals against average.
Vanderbilt is 3-6 all-time against Texas A&M and won last year’s meeting in Nashville 2-0. A&M was ranked No. 14 when they traveled to West End and the Commodores used two-second half goals from Nia Dorsey and Jackie Welch to secure the win. It was the third top-20 win during head coach Darren Ambrose’s tenure with the team.