[7] Vanderbilt Commodores (5-4-0)
vs.
[2] Tennessee Volunteers (4-3-1)
Nov. 17, 2020 • 12 p.m. CT
Orange Beach Sportsplex • Orange Beach, Ala.
SEC Network
• After a second-round victory on Sunday, Vanderbilt will take on SEC East champion and No. 2 seed Tennessee on Tuesday afternoon in Orange Beach, Alabama.
• This will be the 30th all-time meeting between Vanderbilt and Tennessee (Vanderbilt leads 15-10-4)
- First Meeting: 1996 (W, 4-0)
- Last Meeting: 09.27.20 (L, 0-1, OT)
- Last Vanderbilt Win: 09.22.19 (1-0, 2 OT)
- Last Opponent Win: 09.27.20 (1-0, OT)
- Last Draw: 09.27.15 (1-1)
• In his five-plus seasons, Darren Ambrose owns a 5-1-1 record against the Volunteers. Earlier this season, Tennessee earned its first win over Vanderbilt since Ambrose arrived in Nashville with a 1-0 overtime win in Knoxville.
• Vanderbilt earned the No. 7 seed in this year’s tournament and will need to win four games in eight days to capture the 2020 SEC Tournament title. The Commodores already defeated Mississippi State in the second round of the tournament to reach the quarterfinals.
• With a win against Tennessee, Vanderbilt would then move on to Thursday’s quarterfinals against either No. 3 Texas A&M or No. 14 LSU at 8:30 p.m. The championship match is set for Nov. 22 at 1 p.m.
• Vanderbilt has reached the quarterfinals of the SEC Tournament each of the last six years. In that stretch, it has also advanced to the semifinals twice.
• Setting the pace early in the second round on Sunday, Vanderbilt scored twice in the first 17 minutes and added two more for good measure in a 4-0 victory over 10-seed Mississippi State. After a Mississippi State own goal to start the afternoon in the ninth minute, Abi Brighton volleyed home the second goal in the 17th minute and Sophia Gorski netted the third in the 41st minute to lead 3-0 at halftime. Half of Vanderbilt’s shots on goal for the game went in with the Commodores taking 10 shots overall, putting eight on target.
• The four goals Sunday marks the most in an SEC Tournament game for Vanderbilt since netting eight in an 8-3 victory over Arkansas in the first round of the 1997 tournament. It also matches Vanderbilt’s second-most goals in a tournament game, matching the four scored in the 1994 championship game against Auburn.
• Last week, Haley Hopkins was named a First Team All-SEC honoree Thursday for the second time in her career while Ella Shamburger and Maddie Elwell earned second-straight Second Team All-SEC honors. Abi Brighton rounded out Vanderbilt’s postseason honors by earning SEC All-Freshman accolades.
• Prior to the regular season finale, Vanderbilt honored 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 48-20-5 record, which is good for a .692 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 48 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.
• Now in his sixth season leading Vanderbilt soccer, Darren Ambrose has guided one of the best five-year runs in program history. The Dores have amassed a 66-37-10 record and 33-20-7 SEC mark during his tenure. Eleven of those wins are over ranked opponents. Vanderbilt has three appearances in the NCAA Tournament, an SEC regular season championship and an East Division championship under his leadership.Ambrose is the first Vanderbilt head coach in 21 years to have three consecutive double-digit win seasons (2017-19).
