Nov. 1, 2016
ORANGE BEACH, Ala. – The Vanderbilt soccer team is back in sunny Orange Beach, Ala. and ready to kick off its second-straight SEC Tournament journey on Wednesday against the No. 18 Arkansas Razorbacks.
The quarterfinal matchup will be broadcast live from the Orange Beach Sportsplex at 2:30 p.m. CT on the SEC Network.
The Commodores’ hard work in SEC play paid off, as the team enjoyed a bye on Monday and heads into Wednesday afternoon’s contest as the event’s sixth-overall seed. For head coach Darren Ambrose and his squad, the postseason test against No. 3 seed Arkansas will be an exciting rematch. The ‘Dores fell to the Razorbacks 4-0 in Fayetteville earlier this season.
Vanderbilt (9-8-1, 5-5-1) heads into the SEC Tournament second round for the second consecutive year under Ambrose. The Commodores downed Georgia in the first round 2-1 last season before falling to top-seeded Florida 2-1 in quarterfinal play.
“It’s an awesome feeling to make it back to the SEC tournament and reach one of our goals for the season,” said senior captain Kacy Scarpa. “There are a lot of new and exciting things that come along with making the tournament like nice condos, SEC gifts, and going to the beach, but the most exciting is the opportunity to continue to compete. We have put ourselves in a great spot coming into postseason play, and I know we are ready and excited to have another shot at Arkansas tomorrow.”
Back to the Beach
The winner of the ‘Dores’ game against Arkansas will play the victor of the 12:00 p.m. contest between No. 2 Auburn and No. 7 Tennessee.
The Commodores will field two student-athletes who earned postseason honors by the league’s coaches. Vanderbilt junior defender Cristina De Zeeuw earned an at-large selection to the All-SEC second team while Grace Jackson landed on the SEC All-Freshman team.
VU is 13-11-3 all-time in the SEC Tournament, winning the championship twice. The ‘Dores’ two tournament championships came in 1993 and 1994.
Scouting the Razorbacks
After finishing the regular season 15-4-0 overall and 8-3-0 in Southeastern Conference play, the Razorbacks begin the SEC Tournament for the fourth time in five years under head coach Colby Hale.
Arkansas locked down a third-place finish in the SEC and earned a first-round bye after defeating LSU 2-0 last Thursday night in Baton Rouge, La.
Five players on the roster have at least six goals on the season with senior Lindsey Mayo and freshman Kayla McKeon leading the Razorbacks with eight goals each. Senior Claire Kelley and junior Jessi Hartzler have seven goals apiece and freshman Stefani Doyle has scored six times.
For a behind the scenes look at the ‘Dores tournament experience, follow @VanderbiltSocr on Twitter.
