After a nervy season opener that required a last-minute PK conversion to secure a 4-3 win over SMU, the Commodores cruised to a 4-0 victory over ETSU on Sunday. The Commodores did again score a lone goal in the first half before adding a trio of goals in the second 45. The difference was never conceding a goal and rarely seeming at risk of doing so.
Allowing your opposition to attempt a single shot while your players go for goal 19 times is a pretty good indication of how the game flowed. The possession
numbers tell the same story, especially ETSU’s less than 1 minute of attacking quarter possession. I cannot ever recall seeing a team with that little possession inside 40 yards of the opponent’s goal. The Commodores had the ball within sight of the Buccaneers goal for 18 minutes, which makes the ratio about the same as the shot attempts. If you expand it to entire attacking half, Vanderbilt was on the ball there for 45 minutes and change.
All of that maybe does point to there being some clean up to do in the attacking play. They will not be that comfortably in control often, in ever, the rest of the season. A bit more efficiency will be needed.
There is the typical mixing and matching that Coach Ambrose does early in the season. It is easier to get into the bench, especially going to freshmen, when the match is more comfortable even if the scoreline took some time to match the run of play.
Interestingly, a freshman was the catalyst for all 3 of the 2nd half goals. Hailey Perkins was a nightmare for ETSU’s left back. I noted it during the match; Perkins moves a lot like Olivia Stafford. All 3 goals were scored between the 74th and 89th minute and started with Perkins taking a defender 1v1 then crossing to areas around the back post just outside the 6-yard box. The first goal was weakly defended, and Melania Fullerton punished the Bucs for their miscue. Twice, Vanderbilt players won the initial ball with Watts volleying home once and Lena Tusche settling for Alexis Smith to bash into the goal the other.
If Perkins and Tusche, who started at wide midfield in place of Stafford, can be effective on the flanks, we may see more of Stafford beside Watts. Or Tusche could slot inside at CAM if Reagan Pentz stays up beside Sydney Watts. Whichever way Coach Ambrose goes, the wealth of options is exciting.
One position that may be up for grabs is the starting goalkeeper spot. Layla Armas got the start again, but she was replaced at halftime by Alea Gianoplus. Armas did make the only save required of her, but she also bobbled a high flighted free kick that was bailed out by an out-of-control ETSU attacker bundling her over instead of playing the dropped ball. Gianoplus did not face any shots, but she was a vocal leader from the back and also was useful in possession. Teammates look reticent to play Armas the ball. No such trepidations shown with Gianoplus, who I would like to see start tonight.
Whether it is Armas or Gianoplus in goal, the toughest test yet for Vanderbilt is looming. The Memphis Tigers come to Nashville ranked #21 by the United Soccer Coaches poll and #24 by TopDrawerSoccer. The Commodores are ranked #3 and #4, respectively, by those outlets, which are their highest rankings ever in both polls after starting at #5 in both. While Vanderbilt was 4-2 during the 2025 regular season, one of the losses was a 1-0 heartbreaker at Memphis.
The Tigers did not lose a match in the entire regular season or AAC tournament. They went 17-1-3 with wins over Ole Miss, Vanderbilt, Missouri, and #25 (at the time) Rice. A draw against Tennessee was another respectable non-conference result in their SEC-heavy slate. They were bounced from the NCAA Tournament by TCU 4-0 in the 2nd round.
Memphis was, as you would expect from a team that went unbeaten for 20 straight matches, a goal scoring machine that was also incredibly stingy on defense. They scored 53 goals and only allowed 14. For comparison, Vanderbilt scored 4 fewer goals and conceded the same number, albeit with a tougher schedule and 3 more matches.
The Tigers should be dangerous again. They return 37 (70%) of the goals scored and 30 (70%) of the assists. Three defenders who played 1800+ minutes and their starting goalkeeper are all back, too.
The individuals to watch are Ai Kitagawa, Elise Perron, Alex Mackay, and Ellis Kelly. Kitagawa was a goalscoring threat from midfield with 10 goals a season ago, which had her tied at the top of the squad. She also assisted on 5 goals for 3rd most. The other three are all forwards. Perron netted 6 times and assisted on 8 more. Mackay managed 4 goals and 3 assists. Kelly had 5 and 4. One more to watch is Taliah Brooks, who scored 3 goals and had an assist in only 420 minutes played as a freshman.
In 2026, Brooks has scored once already. Kitagawa has both of Memphis’s other goals and assisted on the goal from Brooks. The Tigers knocked off Kennesaw State 2-0 to start the season then dropped a 2-1 result to Alabama on a 90th minute goal. The headed goal from a free kick hit the back of the net with only 7 seconds left on the clock.
If tonight’s match delivers any such drama, it will fit right in with Vanderbilt’s theme. The Commodores are hosting Movie Night, with the first 500 fans in attendance getting a free popcorn bucket and bottomless popcorn through halftime. Kickoff is at 6 PM Central from the Vanderbilt Soccer/Lacrosse Complex. Vanderbilt was 11-1-1 at home last season and has started 1-0-1 this season. The Commodores were 6-1-0 in Top 25 matchups at home with the lone loss being the Elite 8 match against TCU. Tickets are still available for tonight at $10. It appears Season Tickets are no longer on sale, but you could call the ticket office since they would still be cheaper over the course of the season at $50, or just $6.25 for each remaining match. For those at home, the match is going to be broadcast on SEC Network with streaming available through WatchESPN.
