Soccer Returns for Spring Action

Commodores return to game action in March

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The Commodores return to game action in March with three of their six spring contests scheduled to take place in Nashville. Two of the six opponents on the docket competed in the 2019 NCAA Tournament.

“I think we are all excited to get the games underway after having worked hard in the winter training program,” Vanderbilt head coach Darren Ambrose said. “All the competitions give us an opportunity to evaluate how players apply the principles we have been working on in the winter at an individual level.

“As a team, we get to experiment with different systems and combinations of players. While all of us want to win, we are really looking at how individuals have grown in their understanding and their technical ability and how the team can take on board bigger concepts in the run of a game.”

Vanderbilt kicks things off against Murray State on Saturday in Murray, Kentucky. The Racers finished second in the Ohio Valley Conference in 2019 behind league champion Southeast Missouri. The first home game for Vandy is set for March 22 against AAC champion Memphis. Both games are set to begin at 1 p.m. CT.

The Commodores open the Music City College Cup, hosted by Middle Tennessee State on March 28, against Belmont at 11 a.m. The victor advances to take on the winner of Middle Tennessee State and Lipscomb in the final at 2:30 p.m. with a consolation game taking place at 1 p.m. Vanderbilt won the inaugural Music City Cup held last spring.

Vandy wraps up the spring in Nashville with a bout on West End against Indiana at 3 p.m. on April 5 and the finale at Lipscomb at 7 p.m. on April 17. The Lady Bisons captured their second consecutive Atlantic Sun championship in 2019.

The 2020 roster includes two-time All-SEC student-athletes Haley Hopkins and Ella Shamburger and first-time honoree Maddie Elwell. Hopkins earned All-South Region first team honors for the second consecutive season while Shamburger earned a nod to the third-team as well.

The 2020 roster is credited with 32 of the 36 goals scored and account for 95 of the team’s 109 points a season ago. With Lauren Demarchi and Taianna Tolleson both graduating in May, there will be another competition in goal throughout the offseason between senior Sarah Fuller and redshirt freshman Sophie Guilmette.

Vandy is coming off a season in which it boasted a 14-5-2 record, followed up its 2018 SEC regular season title by capturing the SEC East Division title and third consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance.