NASHVILLE – The No. 12 Commodores tied with No. 9 South Carolina, 0-0, in double overtime on Friday night at the Vanderbilt Soccer Complex. Vanderbilt also set the program’s attendance record with 1,177 fans at the game.
Vanderbilt (13-1-1, 6-0-1) maintained its undefeated record in conference play in the defensive battle. The Dores kept their lead in first place in the SEC after earning a point tonight. Texas A&M and South Carolina are right behind them with 16 points.Lauren Demarchi got the start in goal for the Dores and continued her hot play. She recorded three saves and negated a several scoring chances for the Gamecocks early in the first half.
“I’m honestly proud of how we came out today because we didn’t start the game off strong,” Demarchi said. “They had the better of us in the first half. We really turned it around and I thought we were the better team in the second half.”
South Carolina (11-2-1, 5-1-1) came out the aggressor in the first half, fielding three excellent scoring chances right from the start. However, Demarchi stayed strong in goal. After those first few chances, the Dores settled down and ended up outshooting the Gamecocks, 12-11, and holding a 5-3 edge in shots on goal.
The Dores went into overtime, and they saw a lot of good scoring chances thwarted by South Carolina’s goalkeeper. Raegan Kelley, who scored the game-winner last week against Mississippi State, had two shots on goal that were stopped on exceptional saves.
“South Carolina is a very good team,” Vanderbilt head coach Darren Ambrose said. “We hung on in the first half, and in the second half I was proud. We created as many good chances as they did. They had one good chance in the second half and we had three. Credit to their goalkeeper, she made two or three saves that kept them in it.”
The Commodores became the first team this season to shutout South Carolina. The Dores extended their unbeaten streak to 14 games after tonight’s draw.
“The environment here was nothing like I’ve experienced,” Demarchi said. “It was amazing to have so many fans, and to have the band here. It was so cool, and I hope we can keep growing that attendance.”
Up next, the Dores hit the road to face Auburn on Oct. 18 at 6:30 p.m. The game can be viewed on SEC Network+.
