NASHVILLE – The Commodore soccer team looks to wrap up its preseason on Saturday at 6 p.m. as the Memphis Tigers visit Nashville. Head coach Darren Ambrose is entering his fourth year at the helm and is looking forward to the competition on Saturday.
“The Memphis game will be far more intense,” Ambrose said. “We have to come out and take the game to Memphis a little bit. We want to improve and we want to be better in all aspects of the game.”
The Commodores are fresh off an exhibition win last week against Tennessee Tech. It was a close matchup, but the Dores pulled ahead in the 85th minute on Kaylann Boyd’s game-winning header.
Ambrose said he was pleased with the team’s performance, but there were some things he wanted to work on as well.
“There were moments in the game where really good things came out of it,” Ambrose said. “We were fortunate we did find a way to score a goal. There were just some shape things for us that we want to address.”
Vanderbilt is coming off a 13-win season that saw the team upset No. 4 Ohio State in the opening round of the NCAA tournament. The win was Vanderbilt’s first in the NCAA Tournament since 1998.
After Friday’s matchup, the Commodores head to Tallahassee, Florida, to take on Florida State in the season opener. Vanderbilt’s home opener will take place against Miami (Fla.) on Aug. 24 in the Music City Invitational.
Scouting Memphis
The Tigers return 16 players, including five seniors, and welcome 11 newcomers to the 2018 roster. Memphis went 11-6-3 last season and are led by Brooks Monaghan, who is in his 19th year.
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