The Vanderbilt Commodores finished the soccer regular season at 13-3-1 (7-2-1). This was good enough for the 2nd seed in the SEC Tournament along with a #8 ranking by the United Soccer Coaches poll, a #14 ranking by TopDrawerSoccer.com, and #5 in RPI. Their place in the NCAA Tournament is assured as an At Large bid, and they will almost certainly host a first round match. The goal in Pensacola is to win enough games to be a 1 or 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament, which likely will require winning the SEC Tournament.
Vanderbilt closed their regular season with a 1-0 win over South Carolina. The game was decided by a Sydney Watts goal in the 17th minute. She put a slick redirection on a Grace Freeman cross. The ball snuck just inside the back post beyond a goalkeeper diving at air. It was fairly comfortable from there with just the normal concern that anything can happen in a one-goal game.
South Carolina never had much chance for that “anything” to happen. Their 6 total shots and 2 on target was easily kept out by Wojdelko. She did have an athletic save on a long-distance shot that appeared destined for the top of the net until Wojdelko got a hand to it.
The possession chart also paints a fair description of the match. Vanderbilt was generally in possession and in advanced midfield positions. They kept the pressure up but could never find a second goal that would give them any room for error. Thankfully, the defensive work held strong.
Coach Ambrose has clearly found the rotation he likes, and the players are conditioned enough to play at a high level for the full 90 minutes. Of the 11 starters, 7 never left the pitch. All of the starters played at least 74 minutes.
The spread of players taking shots and the efficiency to turn shots into shots on target will be key moving forward. Putting attempts on goal will result in goals. This team has the scorers, especially centerpiece Sydney Watts, to turn just a few shots on goal into points on the scoreboard.
They go into today’s Quarterfinal on a 6-match winning streak where the final 2 wins were over ranked opponents and 2 others were receiving votes in the polls at the time of the match. Alabama advanced by the Gamecocks by scoring the only 2 goals of the match late in the second half. Larkin Thomason opened the scoring in the 76th minute before Gianna Paul put the match to rest in the 89th minute.
The Crimson Tide are now 11-7-1 (4-6-0) on the season. They are unranked by either major poll but do boast the 27th best RPI. Their non-conference slate did include a 3-1 win at home over Michigan and a 1-1 tie at then-#3 Duke. Duke is now #9/#10, so the impressiveness of the draw stands up. Their only other ranked match was a 4-0 loss at North Carolina, who were #23 but are now only receiving votes in the Coaches’ Poll. Playing South Carolina again would have been a much tougher challenge but also a better chance to boost the resume for the NCAA Tournament.
The main threats to the Vanderbilt goal are the ones who pushed Alabama passed South Carolina. Paul has 10 goals and 6 assists on the season, but only 4 goals and 3 assists in conference play. Thomason has a total of 8 goals and 4 assists, but, similarly, only 4 goals and 2 assists against SEC foes. The next danger comes from Nadia Ramadan who is just behind them in matches against SEC teams with 3 goals and 2 assists in conference matches. She was a bit slow to start since her season totals are just 5 goals and 5 assists.
Tasked with keeping the Crimson Tide net unbothered is Madi Munguia. She has started 16 matches this season, including all 10 conference matches, and compiled a 1.42 GAA and 0.676 SV%. She has made 46 saves on the 68 shots on goal she has faced. Her statistics are just slightly lower in SEC games only where she has a 1.90 GAA and 0.648 SV%.
The leader of Alabama’s back line is Maison Smith, who has played the most minutes (1475) on the team and started 17 of 18 matches. She is typically joined by Kennedy Garcia (1451 minutes played), Ulla Sharp (1227 minutes played), and Melina Rebimbas (1092 minutes played). Rebimbas is listed as both a midfield and defender, so her exact deployment may vary.
This morning’s kickoff is 11:30 AM Central to start Quarterfinals day in Pensacola. It is survive and advance time on the beach. The match will be broadcast on SEC Network for the TV crowd and streamed on SEC Network+ for those sneakily watching at work. My commentary will be limited as I try to do just that.
