NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Vanderbilt soccer continues its nonconference slate by hosting Saint Mary’s (Calif.) on Sunday afternoon at the Vanderbilt Soccer Complex. Kickoff is slated for 1 p.m. and can be seen on SEC Network+.
Vanderbilt, 1-0-1 overall, is coming off a 5-0 victory over Nashville foe Belmont Thursday night. The Commodores had four different scorers in the match, with the fifth goal coming off an own goal. Sydney Watts tallied her first career goal to make it 4-0 just before the hour mark. Melania Fullerton also tallied her first career goal with an assist from Porter and Nyela Calnek. Vandy outshot the Bruins 28-1 as keeper Sara Wojdelko registered her sixth career shutout. Freshman Mary Beth McLaughlin also registered the first start of her career.
Sunday will be the fourth meeting all-time between the two programs, with Vanderbilt leading 2-1 overall. The first matchup occurred in 1997 with a 4-0 Commodore victory. The two schools haven’t met since 2007, when the Gaels claimed their first win in the series with a 3-2 overtime decision.
Saint Mary’s is coming off their first win of the 2024 campaign over Tennessee Tech on Thursday night. The Gaels were led by Tessa Salvestrin, who netted her first career hat trick. Keeper Kate Plachy picked up her second shutout of the season.
With a win, Vanderbilt head coach Darren Ambrose will reach 100 career Vanderbilt wins. He will be just the second coach in program history to reach the milestone, the other being Ken McDonald (1989-98), who had 126 Vandy wins.
