COOKEVILLE, Tenn. –Vanderbilt soccer used four goals in the second half to rally from a 1-0 halftime deficit and defeated Tennessee Tech 4-1 Sunday afternoon at the Tech Soccer Field.
The Commodores remained perfect in 2008, improving to 5-0 on the year, while the Golden Eagles fell to 1-4.
TTU scored in the 20th minute when Ashley Smith headed in a shot off a deflected kick from teammate Katie Hoover.
The Golden Eagles took a 1-0 lead into the half despite VU holding a 17-4 shot advantage.
The Commodores got on the board in the second frame when Candace West scored at the 49:08 mark. Lindsay Ratterman connected on her second goal of the season at the 54:58 mark to give the team a lead that they would not relinquish.
Nicole Lukens and West scored the third and fourth goals of the game in quick succession starting at the 64:02 mark to give the Commodores a 4-1 advantage. It was the first goal for Lukens since the 2006 season as she missed the 2007 campaign due to injury. West finished with two goals and an assist and now leads the team in scoring with five points.
VU out-shot TTU 19-3 in the second half and finished with a 36-7 shot margin for the contest.
Rachel Bachtel started in goal and allowed a goal for the first time in two games, while finishing with three saves. Devan Council came on in the 72nd minute and closed out the game in net without facing a shot.
Sophomore Molly Kinsella led the team with four shots on goal, while senior Amy Wilcox had eight shots, three of them on goal.
Golden Eagles goalkeeper Kaityln Thacker faced a barrage of shots and finished with 13 saves while allowing four goals.
The Commodores will close out their four game road swing next weekend against Missouri and Saint Louis. VU will face the Tigers on Friday at 6:30 p.m. in Columbia, Mo., before heading to Saint Louis to face the Billikens next Sunday at 1 p.m.
