Tigers down Dores in SEC Opener

AUBURN, Ala. — The Vanderbilt soccer team fell on the road in a gritty conference opener against the Auburn Tigers on Friday night. AU’s initial goal in the first 15 minutes of play kept the squad just out of reach, with the Tigers taking the contest, 2-1.

“There were some bright moments tonight by some of our younger players,” said head coach Darren Ambrose. “I thought Sydney O’Donnell and Nia Dorney were both fantastic. Kaitlyn Fahrner was probably the team MVP again. We tried to come back and had a few chances to tie it up, which is nice to see, but what they learned is that they have to play that way 90 minutes in the SEC, not just when the team is down 2-0. In key moments and in key areas of the field, players were making bad decisions. In the attacking third and the defensive third of the field, that’s where you get punished in this league.”

After a yellow card was awarded to Sasha Gray for pulling down Brooke Ramsier in the penalty box, Auburn struck first and early. Ramsier stepped up to the penalty spot and placed the ball into the center of the back of the net with Kaitlyn Fahrner diving left slightly too early.

Not afraid to experiment with a different system, around the 20-minute mark Vanderbilt changed its formation from a 4-4-3 to a 3-5-2 in hopes of protecting the midfield and wings. In changing the system, VU gained more possession than the previous formation and began to cut off Auburn’s leading threats, the Ramsier twins, as well as some midfield passes.

Looking to place the Commodores on the board and makeup for her foul, at the end of half Gray started making her way into the final third. VU settled down and held possession late in the first half, but both Gray and the remainder of the Commodore offence failed to get a shot on goal.

Coming out of the locker room, Auburn’s speed began breaking down the VU defense, which left Fahrner as the Commodores last line of defense.

Starting 22 of 23 matches for Oklahoma her sophomore season, Fahrner’s point blank and one on one saves were paramount in keeping Vanderbilt just in striking distance. Fahrner was forced to make stop after stop directly in front of goal to hold Auburn to a 1-0 lead.

“We came out in the second half flat and we put Kaitlyn in the position where she had to make a lot of saves. I expected a little bit more from us, but Auburn is very athletic and deep.”

In the 73rd minute Gray failed to clear ball out from the penalty area, which resulted in a Tiger goal. But the versatile Commodore immediately responded and was off on the attack.

In Tiger territory, Nia Dorsey beat out her defender on the left wing and connected a perfect cross Gray. The senior chipped away at the Tiger lead, to put the `Dores on the board, 2-1. The goal (74:20) was Gray’s fourth of the season, after establishing a hat trick against Jackson State on August 28th.

As the clock expired, Vanderbilt had two chances to tie the matchup and send the SEC opener to overtime. Grace Jackson headed the ball just wide in the 81st, and Lydia Simmons followed the attempt up with a shot of her own. However Simmons ball was played the left footers right foot, and the redshirt junior was unable to get enough power on the ball for a goal.

Auburn’s senior class walked away from the contest with their first conference-opening win, 2-1. Vanderbilt returns home on Sunday, taking on the Northern Kentucky Norse at 4:00 pm CT.