Jan. 30, 2017
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Following a successful 2016 season, the Vanderbilt soccer team has begun preparations for a rigorous spring schedule, which consists of five contests against Middle Tennessee, Samford, Louisville, Ole Miss and Lipscomb.
Kicking off on March 19 at MT, all competitions will either be away or hosted at a neutral site in Murfreesboro, Tenn. at Richard Siegel Park.
“We have a competitive spring ahead of us with five games that all offer various challenges for us,” said head coach Darren Ambrose. “We really want to get our younger players exposed to good competitive games to see what we are made of and I think all five games offer that to us.”
VU’s first game against the Blue Raiders is slated for 5 p.m. at the Dean A. Hayes Soccer Stadium. In their last meeting back in 2012, Vandy defeated MT by a score of 2-0 to make the overall record 5-0-0.
The `Dores are back on the road 12 days later, traveling south to Birmingham, Ala. to take on Samford at 2 p.m. on March 25. The Bulldogs most recently contended in the first round of the NCAA tournament after winning the Southern Conference tournament title with a 2-1 victory over East Tennessee State. Vanderbilt fell in double overtime 3-2 in the team’s last meeting with Samford.
“MT is always a tough competitor, while Samford has been a regular in the NCAA tournament and will give us a realistic view of where we are this spring. I also wanted to get our program out into the local community, so we are going to be playing Louisville and Ole Miss at Siegel Park in Murfreesboro.”
It’s been over a decade since Vanderbilt and Louisville have squared off. Boasting a 6-0-1 overall record against the Cardinals, VU looks to test its young squad once more on April 1. The two teams face off at 1 p.m.
On April 9, Vanderbilt takes on its lone Southeastern Conference opponent of the spring, as the Ole Miss Rebels head to Murfreesboro for a 2 p.m. meeting. The match against Ole Miss will provide additional SEC experience for the freshman class as well a newcomer Paola Ellis.
Vandy caps the fall against Nashville neighbor, Lipscomb in a 7:30 p.m. meeting on April 13. In their last clash, the Bison defeated the Commodores 2-0 for the team’s first loss of the season. Lipscomb capped the 2016 season as runner-up of the Atlantic Sun conference, falling 2-0 in the tournament final against Florida Gulf Coast.
“Our final game at Lipscomb is a bit more of a local rivalry which I really love. It adds meaning to a spring game, which always raises the level of the game. Our goal is really to get a sense of our younger players as they compete to establish themselves in our program and continue to establish the standards that we know will help us compete at a higher level in the fall.”
