ATHENS, Ga. –Senior forward Sarah Dennis’ goal at the 29:11 mark in the first half was all Vanderbilt needed in a 1-0 win over Texas Tech at the Turner Soccer Complex Sunday morning.
Dennis took a feed from freshman Molly Kinsella to score the Commodores (1-0-1) first goal of the season.
It was the second straight shutout for VU and freshman keeper Rachel Bachtel who had nine saves in today’s match. For the season she hasn’t allowed a goal in 200 minutes with 13 saves.
The Commodores held a 7-6 shot advantage in the first half while the Red Raiders (0-2) tried to comeback in the second half with a 12-9 advantage.
Molly Kinsella continued to lead the VU attack with four shots, including one on goal. Dennis scored her 11th career goal and finished with three shots, two on goal. Senior Amy Baumann and redshirt freshman Lindsay Ratterman had two and one shot(s) on goal respectively.
The win snapped a string of three straight ties for the Commodores dating back to last season and it was the sixth shutout victory over the last two years.
Host Georgia went 2-0 at the Nike Invitational with a 3-1 win over Wisconsin. Freshman midfielder Caroline Simpson recorded the hat trick for the Bulldogs. Vanderbilt finished second with a 1-0-1 ledger. Wisconsin went 0-1-1, while Texas Tech went 0-2 under its first-year head coach.
Vanderbilt will close out its three game season opening road trip this Friday at UAB. The contest is scheduled for a 7:30 p.m. start. The Commodores will then host Tennessee Tech in their home opener on Sunday at 2 p.m. at the VU Soccer Complex.
