#10 Vanderbilt Commodores (9-5-0)
at
#7 Duke Blue Devils (10-5-2)
April 11, 2021 • Noon CT
Koskinen Stadium • Durham, N.C.
ACC Network Extra
Top 10 Matchup
- Prepped for a top-10 matchup in Durham, North Carolina, Vanderbilt will go on the road to close the regular season Sunday afternoon with a visit to No. 7 Duke at noon CT on ACC Network Extra.
- The ninth meeting between the two programs, Sunday’s game marks the first matchup between the two since the 2001 season.
Our Spring Schedule
- Vanderbilt is in the midst of a spring slate that, originally scheduled, consisted of three exhibitions and four regular-season games before turning its attention to the NCAA Tournament.
- Selections for the tournament are scheduled for April 19. Vanderbilt has the automatic bid from the SEC because of its SEC Tournament title in November.
- The originally scheduled slate saw Vandy play regular season games against Kennesaw State, Lipscomb, Memphis and Duke after exhibitions against Middle Tennessee and DePaul. It rounded out its exhibition schedule on March 7 with a matchup against Racing Louisville FC of the NWSL.
- With Lipscomb forced to cancel due to the rescheduling of a conference match, Vanderbilt now plays three exhibitions and three regular games before the NCAA Tournament.
Last Time Out
- Trailing 2-0, Vanderbilt scored a pair of late goals with the equalizer in the 88th minute against No. 17 Memphis but fell in overtime to the Tigers for its first loss since Nov. 7 of the fall season.
- Haley Hopkins scored the first goal in the 77th minute, heading a ball in on a free kick from Leila Azari. Eleven minutes later, Hopkins was again in the equation when she assisted on Abi Brighton’s game-tying volley.
Ranked Dores
- Vanderbilt is ranked No. 10 in the latest Top Drawer Soccer poll. It also checks in at No. 14 in the nation in the United Soccer Coaches poll.
- Vanderbilt was as high as No. 4 in the Top Drawer poll and No. 6 in the United Soccer Coaches poll before its loss to No. 17 Memphis.
- Previously, Vanderbilt’s highest ranking in program history was No. 7 during the 2018 season in both polls.
Noting the SEC Title
- Vanderbilt’s SEC title is the third tournament championship in program history and the first since 1994.
- After scoring 11 goals in eight regular-season games in 2020, Vanderbilt came alive in the SEC Tournament with a tournament-record 14 goals in four games while allowing just four.
- Seven players tallied goals in the tournament with Raegan Kelley leading the way with three. Haley Hopkins, Maddie Elwell and Abi Brighton also added two apeice with Kimya Raietparvar nailing two penalty kicks.
- Along the way, Vanderbilt took down three nationally-ranked teams and each of the top three seeds in No. 13 Tennessee (No. 2 seed), No. 8 Texas A&M (No. 3 seed) and No. 6 Arkansas (No. 1 seed).
Some of the Nation’s Best
- With Top Drawer Soccer announcing its top players in the nation, three Commodores made the lists.
- Abi Brighton has been named one of the best 11 freshmen in the country.
- Haley Hopkins and Ella Shamburger were named to the organization’s Top 100 in the country. Hopkins is No. 41 and Shamburger checked in at No. 87.
- In the midseason release of the list this week, Brighton checked in as the 12th-ranked freshman in the nation while Amber Nguyen ranked No. 76.
- Nationally, both Hopkins and Shamburger moved up three spots with Hopkins now at No. 38 in the overall top 100 and Shamburger at No. 84.
Head Coach Darren Ambrose
- In his sixth season leading Vanderbilt soccer, Darren Ambrose has guided one of the best runs in program history.
The Dores have amassed a 70-38-10 record and 33-20-7 SEC mark during his tenure. Fourteen of those wins are over ranked opponents, meaning Ambrose has guided the program to 14 of its 22 wins over ranked teams.
To date, Vanderbilt has three consecutive appearances in the NCAA Tournament with a fourth coming in April thanks to the secured automatic bid, an SEC regular season championship (2018), a tournament championship (2020) and an East Division championship (2019) under his leadership.
Ambrose is the first Vanderbilt head coach in 21 years to have three consecutive double-digit win seasons (2017-19) and will make it four years in a row with one more win during the spring season.
Looking Ahead
- Vanderbilt will now turn its attention to the NCAA Tournament. Selections for the big dance are set for April 19 with the first round of the tournament slated for April 27-28.
- For more information about the tournament, which will be played in its entirety in the state of North Carolina, click here.