No. 13 Vanderbilt Commodores (4-3-0)
vs.
Ole Miss Rebels (3-4-0)
Nov. 7, 2020 • 6 p.m. CT
Vanderbilt Soccer Complex • Nashville, Tenn.
SEC Network+
• Closing the regular season, Vanderbilt will host Ole Miss at Vanderbilt Soccer Complex for a 6 p.m. kickoff on SEC Network+.
• This will be the 20th all-time meeting between Vanderbilt and Ole Miss (Series tied 7-7-5)
- First Meeting: 1995 (W, 6-1)
- Last Meeting: 10.25.18 (L, 0-1)
- Last Vanderbilt Win: 10.23.16 (4-1)
- Last Opponent Win: 10.25.18 (1-0)
- Last Draw: 10.23.08 (0-0)
• In his five-plus seasons, Darren Ambrose owns a 2-1-0 record against the Rebels. Vanderbilt has outscored Ole Miss 5-2 in those three games, including a 4-1 win in 2016 – the last time Ole Miss visited Nashville.
• Prior to the game, Vanderbilt will honor 10 seniors in Haley Hopkins, Olivia Simmons, Kayla Eason, Maddie Elwell, Myra Konte, Leila Azari, Blue Ellis, Sarah Fuller, Madiya Harriott and Rebecca Rossett. The 2020 senior class owns a 47-19-5 record, which is good for a .697 winning percentage. The percentage thus far marks the best winning percentage by a four-year class in program history, topping the previous bests of .665 in 1997 and .663 just last year in 2019. Overall, this marks the 10th senior class in program history to win at least 47 games. Only seven classes have won at least 50 games, and the 2019 senior class was the first to reach the 50-win mark (52) since six classes in a row reached the number from 1995 to 2000.
• Last time out, Vanderbilt scored its first first-half goal of 2020 and never looked back from there, beating LSU 2-0 in Louisiana on Friday, Oct. 30. Leila Azari scored 16 minutes into the game when she redirected a Maddie Elwell corner into the back of the net for her first goal of 2020. Olivia Simmons put the icing on the victory in the 80th minute when she pressured the LSU back line, forced a turnover and scored her first goal of 2020.
• Vanderbilt has now recorded back-to-back shutouts, marking the first two of 2020 and the first time it has posted consecutive clean sheets since opening 2019 with five in a row.
• Entering the final week of the regular season, Vanderbilt stands fourth in the SEC overall standings with 12 points. In this year’s SEC Tournament, the SEC East and West regular-season champions earn the top two seeds in the tournament with seeds three through 14 determined by overall points. The top four seeds in the tournament earn double byes directly into the quarterfinals on Tuesday, Nov. 17. Seed Nos. 5-10 earn a bye into the second round set for Sunday, Nov. 15, and seed Nos. 11-14 play in first-round action Friday, Nov. 13.
• Though Vanderbilt cannot win the SEC East title, it is still eligible to earn a double bye in the tournament. With a victory and a single Auburn loss or two draws, Vanderbilt would secure the No. 4 seed as long as South Carolina defeats Tennessee on Friday night to win the SEC East. Auburn enters the weekend with two games on the schedule, against Alabama and at Texas A&M. Should Vanderbilt win and Auburn earn a win and a draw, the seed would come down to a tiebreaker. Two Auburn wins would eliminate Vanderbilt from contention for a double bye.
Update: With Tennessee’s 1-0 victory over South Carolina on Friday night, Vanderbilt has been eliminated from contention for a double bye in the SEC Tournament. With a win Saturday, Vanderbilt would secure the No. 5 seed and a 7:30 p.m. CT game on Sunday, Nov. 15, against the winner of the No. 12 vs. No. 13 first-round game.
• With three wins in a row, Vanderbilt re-entered the United Soccer Coaches poll this week at No. 13 in the nation and will play its third game of the year as a ranked team on Saturday. In the first release of the poll on Sept. 22, Vanderbilt checked in at No. 10. A week later, after falling in overtime to Tennessee, Vanderbilt checked in at No. 13. A season ago, Vanderbilt reached as high as No. 9 in the poll.