COLUMBIA, S.C. – The Vanderbilt Commodores (9-5-1, 4-2-1) had upset on their minds when they took the pitch Sunday afternoon against No. 3 South Carolina (13-1-0, 7-0-0). The Gamecocks put two goals up within the first 10 minutes and were able control the rest of the match en route to a 3-0 win.
Following the match, head coach Darren Ambrose talked about the team’s slow start and how they have to fix it to compete with the top teams in the conference.
“We are still trying to learn how to compete with top-20 teams,” said Ambrose. “We are taking lessons all the time from teams that we play that aren’t going to pay off right now. But with so many younger players, it is something that we are going to through until they learn. You expect the upperclassmen to rally the troops and keep everyone going and right now we need that from them.”
South Carolina got started early with a chance in the sixth minute. Savannah McCaskill got a ball just outside the box on her right foot. She took one touch and fired a shot to the opposite post for the game’s opening goal.
Two minutes later, the Gamecocks struck again and it all got started with McCaskill. She took advantage of a Commodore turnover and fed a through ball up to Elexa Bahr who beat two Commodore defenders and sent a ball below Taiana Tolleson for the goal.
In the last 15 minutes or so, the Commodores settled in and were able to get a few chances in their offensive end. None of the chances turned into goal for the Dores and they faced a 2-0 deficit at the half.
In the second half, the Dores had a chance in the 62nd minute off a run made by Leila Azari. She took the ball up the right side and sent a cross into the box as Simone Charley was streaking down the middle of the field. Charley beat both defenders but South Carolina’s keeper came out to deflect the cross and end the chance for the Dores.
Late in the second half, the Gamecocks went on the counter attack following a lengthy possession for the Dores in their attacking third. Luciana Zullo took possession just outside of the box and flicked a shot on goal and it was high enough to get above Tolleson and sneak under the bar for the Gamecocks’ third goal to seal the 3-0 final result.
The Commodores return home for this week for a home match against in-state rival Tennessee Thursday night. The Volunteers are ranked 19th and will be the third consecutive ranked opponent the Dores have faced. Thursday’s match will begin at 7 pm CT at the VU Soccer Complex.
Ambrose sees Thursday’s match as another opportunity for the Commodores to face another top team but stressed that they need to fix the mistakes if they hope to compete with them.
“From my perspective, every game is an opportunity for us to show that we can rise to that level,” stated Ambrose. “Even in moments today, we knocked it around and it was okay but we are just making crucial, crucial errors that need to be fixed. We have to learn from them and not repeat them going forward.”
