Vanderbilt soccer suffered its first defeat of the season when they traveled down I-40 to Memphis. It was a Top 25 matchup with the Tigers at 24 while Vanderbilt was 11 or 12, depending on the ranking, so the loss itself is not enough to set off any alarm bells. There were some of the issues you expect with a team that lost as much as Vanderbilt did from 2024 to 2025. You expect those to show up in the first contest against a quality opponent.
The good news is that Vanderbilt did a lot of driving
the game. A goal just never came for the Commodores. They had a couple of really close moments, such as a goal line clearance from a 21st minute Brooke Dardano attempt and an 89th minute Adysen Armenta sharp angle shot that was handled easily.
The Memphis goal came in the 55th minute, and I have a complaint. Watch the video and see if you notice anything.
Yes, the Memphis attacker who scores the goal is pretty clearly offside. There was no review even though it was in effect because a handball would get reviewed later. Here is a still shot with the offending player called out.
Vanderbilt does only have themselves to blame for getting blanked though. You cannot win without a goal, so they deserved, at best, a draw.
The shot generation was impressive again. The finishing was lacking on Sunday night.
Sydney Watts continues to get into good positions and generate shots. Having four Commodores who combined to take 5 shots put all of their attempts on target is impressive. When you have players consistently finding the target, you have a better chance of getting one by a goalkeeper. They just needed to dial in the sights a bit to find corners instead of allowing for simple saves.
With only one match this weekend, the Commodores will face the Yale Bulldogs under some Friday night lights. The Ivy League representative comes to Nashville with a 2-0-0 record after a 1-0 win at Vermont and 4-0 win hosting Hofstra. In 2024, Yale was 8-7-1 (2-4-1). The Ivy League conference tournament is only 4 teams, so the Bulldogs did not compete as they finished 5th.
The issue a year ago was goal scoring. Yale only scored 24 goals over 16 matches. Even with the 4-goal output against Hofstra, it is likely that goals are still the problem in 2025. The Bulldogs have to replace 15 of their 24 goals. Similarly, 14 of 26 assists in 2024 are no longer on the roster. With only 38% of their goals and 46% of their assists back, it would be expected that some transfers might have been added to bolster production. No, Yale will rely on returners to step up or on a class of 6 freshmen to contribute immediately.
Yale does return goalkeeper Kyla Holmes who posted a very impressive 0.88 Goals Against Average and 0.805 save percentage across 10 starts. She will likely be very busy.
Frankly, this match feels like it should be more in the realm of Austin Peay and Tennessee Tech instead of Louisville, much less Memphis. Vanderbilt struggling in this one would be a nasty surprise that could sour my attitude for the tailgate Saturday.
Kickoff tonight is at 7 PM from the Vanderbilt Soccer/Lacrosse Complex. It is a shame that it happens at the same time as Vanderbilt volleyball’s first home match, which is being played outside on the Wyatt Lawn. Local country music artist and Vanderbilt alum Julia Cole is also performing a concert after the volleyball contest, so maybe come out for either then get over to Wyatt for some free music. If you cannot make it to campus, the match will be streamed on SEC Network+. The match will serve as Senior Night.
