Soccer shuts out Southern Miss, 2-0

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The Vanderbilt women’s soccer team closed out its first doubleheader weekend of the 2010 season with a clean sheet behind Sunday’s 2-0 victory over Southern Miss.

Senior Nicole Adams and sophomore Kate Goldin tallied goals for Vanderbilt, which had beaten Tennessee Tech by an indentical 2-0 margin on Friday.

In the 15th minute of play, senior Molly Kinsella sent a cross in from the right side. Adams’ made a run toward the far post and headed the ball back across the face of the goal into the side netting to give the Commodores a 1-0 lead.

Vanderbilt held onto that thin lead until Goldin’s strike gave them a cushion in the 83rd minute. Finally back from a leg injury this weekend, Goldin controlled a deflected pass on the right sideline and sent a looping ball over USM goalkeeper Hannah Vanderbough just inside the far post.

The Commodores out shot the Golden Eagles, 15-5, on the day, with Adams matching Southern Miss’ shot total with five attempts of her own. Vanderbough kept her USM side in the match by making seven saves and winning a number of crosses in the air.

Vanderbilt would play the final 33 minutes with a man advantage after Amy Davis was red carded for back-to-back dangerous fouls on VU senior Megan Kinsella.

Head Coach Ronnie Woodard’s Commodores will hit the road next weekend, traveling to Blacksburg, Va., for games against Atlantic Coast Conference competition. Vanderbilt faces Wake Forest on Friday afternoon before taking on host Virginia Tech on Sunday. Both teams are currently ranked in the NSCAA Top 25.

The team returns home the following weekend to close out the non-conference schedule with matches against Valparaiso (Friday, Sept. 17) and Wisconsin (Sunday, Sept. 19).