No. 11/12 Vanderbilt at No. 24 Memphis
Sunday, August 24 • 7:30 p.m. • ESPN+
Track and Soccer Complex • Memphis, Tenn.
Series History
• Vanderbilt leads the all-time series 4-3-0 with the first matchup taking place in 2000, resulting in a 3-0 Commodore win. The Dores are 3-0 all-time when visiting Memphis
• The two programs last met in the 2020-21 season, resulting an overtime win for Memphis (3-2)
The Opponent
• Memphis enters the contest 3-0 on the season and only losing two matches at home in since 2019
• The Tigers are coming off a 7-0 win over Kennesaw State Thursday evening, led Ellis Kelly and Ai Kitagawa who each tallied a brace
• Vanderbilt (15-0) and Memphis (16-2) are first and second in the country in goal differential, respectively
Scouting Report
• Freshman Ellis Kelly leads the Tigers with 11 points off four goals and three assists. The forward has two games with two braces, with her first career brace coming in the season opener against Southern Miss
• Ai Kitagawa has three goals and two assists for the second-most points of eight so far for the Tigers. The midfielder was named 2024 AAC Freshman of the Year after leading team with six assists and had the second most goals (six) during her rookie campaign
• In goal, Abby Kudia has gotten all three starts this year, posting just one save and conceding two goals in 180 minutes of action
Last Time Out
• No.11 Vanderbilt soccer opened the road portion of its schedule with a 6-0 victory over Tennessee Tech on Thursday. The Commodores open the season with three consecutive shutouts, outscoring opponents 15-0
• Graduate transfer Susanna Soderman opened the scoring in the 27th minute, finishing a feed from Sydney Watts for her second goal of the season. Just before halftime, Maci Teater doubled the advantage with her second career goal in black and gold to send Vandy into the break ahead 2–0
• The Commodores broke the match open with four goals in the final 25 minutes. Watts netted back-to-back goals only a minute apart, to push the lead to 4-0. Freshman Olivia Stafford closed out the night with her first career brace, scoring in the 73rd and 88th minutes off assists from Teater, both on corners
Dores Jump Six Spots
• Vanderbilt soccer jumped six spots in the United Soccer Coaches Poll, registering at 11th in the country heading into Thursday’s matchup. The six spots are the second-highest jump in the rankings this week, after Texas Tech jumped seven spots
• The Dores started the season ranked No. 17 by USC
