No. 2/1 Vanderbilt (12-0-1, 4-0-1 SEC) vs. RV Florida (6-4-3, 2-2-1 SEC)
Thursday, Oct. 15 • 6 p.m. CT
Vanderbilt Soccer Complex • Nashville, Tenn.
ESPN+ • Live Stats • Game Notes
No. 2/1 Vanderbilt (12-0-1, 4-0-1 SEC) at No. 8/11 Alabama (12-2, 5-1 SEC)
Sunday, Oct. 18 • 6 p.m. CT
Alabama Soccer Complex • Tuscaloosa, Ala.
ESPNU • Live Stats • Game Notes
NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- No. 2/1 Vanderbilt plays its final two-match week of the regular season, hosting Florida on Thursday night before traveling to No. 8/11 Alabama for a top-10 matchup on Sunday night. Both matches will kick at 6 p.m. and stream on SEC Network+.
Thursday's match is Vanderbilt's Dollar Match, meaning tickets are on sale for just $1.
The Opponents
- Florida has had a rollercoaster of a season in Nick Zimmeran’s first year as head coach. Their 4-2-1 nonconference record was highlighted by a 3-1 win over Florida State, but they didn’t pick up their first SEC victory until the fourth match against Texas A&M. Their second win was another shock wave, a 1-0 result over No. 5/6 Alabama to hand them their first SEC loss.
- The Gators have won five of eight in Gainesville but have just one win in six away matches.
- Alabama has been one of the biggest surprise stories in all of college soccer, reaching as high as No. 4 in the coaches poll last week despite being picked sixth in the SEC.
- Their only two losses on the year came at home to Harvard and on the road last Thursday in Gainesville. Like Vanderbilt, they have beaten Memphis, Texas A&M and Ole Miss, and they will play Georgia on Thursday night while the Dores are hosting Florida.
Scouting Report: Florida
- Florida’s top two goalscorers are Mississippi State transfers that came with Zimmerman to Florida last winter. Kyra Taylor has seven goals and three assists, and Zoe Main has five goals and five assists to lead the conference’s fourth-highest scoring team.
- Jayden Emmanuel has started every SEC match in goal, posting a goals-against average of 1.33 that is up from her nonconference figure of 0.95. The win over Alabama was just the third clean sheet in 12 matches played.
Scouting Report: Alabama
- Senior Larkin Thomason is fourth in the conference with nine goals, with a program-record six of them coming from the penalty spot. Junior Ashley Roni leads the way with seven goals from open play.
- Abby Munguia has been a staple in goal, posting eight shutouts which is tied for the second most in the country. The Tide have only allowed multiple goals twice, although Harvard shipped six past them in Tuscaloosa on Sept. 6.
Record Ranking
- Vanderbilt is No. 2 in the United Soccer Coaches poll and No. 1 in TopDrawerSoccer, their first top ranking in program history. They have been ranked No. 1 in five of the last six TDS polls.
- The Commodores are the first team on campus to be ranked No. 1 in a national poll since bowling received the top ranking in December 2024. • They join bowling, baseball, women’s basketball, women’s tennis, and men’s and women’s golf as programs to receive the No. 1 ranking.
Top of the Table
- Vanderbilt is tied for the top spot in the SEC standings with four matches remaining. They are level with South Carolina with 16 of a possible 18 points, two points ahead of Alabama after the Tide fell at Florida on Oct. 8.
- The Dores will get a chance to play both of them in the coming weeks, traveling to No. 8/11 Alabama on Sunday and hosting No. 6/17 South Carolina in the regular season finale on Nov. 1.
- The tiebreaker would be head-to-head result, followed by results versus common opponents.
Pacing the Nation
- Vanderbilt is fifth in the country in goals per game (3.38), first in assists (3.77) and third in points (10.54).
- They are one of four schools without a loss in 2026, and the only SEC squad. They lead the country with a winning percentage of .962.
Sydney’s Scoring Surge
- Even by her lofty standards, senior forward Sydney Watts is on a production heater to start 2026. • With 13 goals and five assists in 12 games, the All-American ranks fourth nationally with 31 points.
- She is second in program history and sixth among active D-I players with 38 career goals. She set a program record by scoring in seven consecutive games to open the season.
Chasing History
- This Vandy attack is in the running to be among the best in program history, with 44 goals through 13 games.
- Their biggest competition is the 1994 squad, which went 18-5 and scored a school-record 77 goals en route to an SEC regular season and tournament title. Through 13 games, they had 48 goals.
Best of the Best
- The win at No. 9 Tennessee on Sept. 27 was the 10th win in 13 top-25 battles Vanderbilt has played since the 2025 season. It was also the first top-10 SEC win on the road since they defeated the Lady Vols in 2018.
- The Dores went 4-2 in top-25 regular season battles in 2025, won three more en route to the SEC Tournament title and went 2-1 against ranked competition in the NCAA Tournament.
- At home, they are 7-1 in top-25 matchups.
Protecting The Plex
- The Dores went 11-1-1 at home last season and are 7-0 at home in 2026.
- Since 2022, they are 40-5-8 at home.
Alpha Attackers
- Sophomore Olivia Stafford and freshman Lena Tusche are first and second in the conference with nine and seven assists, respectively.
- Tusche tied a freshman record with three assists against Tennessee Tech on Sept. 3, while Stafford has logged an assist in seven of the opening 13 games.
- In SEC play, Sydney Watts and Mia Hebert rank first and second in goals with five and four, respectively.