The Vanderbilt Commodores put up an absolute barrage against Yale last Friday night. They fired off 34 shots and put 13 of them on target. Kyla Holmes in the Yale goal was fantastic. She made 9 saves to keep the home side to just 1 goal through the first 80 minutes while her own team only mustered 6 shots with only 1 on target. Then, with their 2nd shot on goal of the match and first attempt since
the 57th minute, the Bulldogs found the back of the Commodore net to tie the match, and it felt like Holmes might have stolen a result.
Vanderbilt did not accept the draw though. The final 10 minutes saw the final 4 Commodore attempts result in a block, a save, a save, and a goal. Yes, it took all 34 shots because the final one was the winner in the 87th minute. Adysen Armenta had the ball on the right wing and appeared to be looking for a crossing target. Her defender gave her too much space, and the wide midfielder decided to cut inside, right across the top of the penalty area, and rifled a shot into the far left top corner. Holmes had no chance for more heroics, and the Commodores got the result they needed.
Yes, it was one-way traffic towards Holmes. Spending 43 minutes in possession in your attacking half is about as dominant as you can be. Even more impressive is that 22 minutes of that time was within 30 yards of the Yale goal. In terms of possession, shot attempts, and shots on goal, this match was as dominant as the Tennessee Tech and Austin Peay routs.
Also, please note the absurd 10 corner kicks Vanderbilt took in this match. Those set pieces are extremely dangerous with Courtney Jones taking them towards targets like Sydney Watts and Hannah McLaughlin. None of them were able to be put home.
Typically, opposing players go unnamed unless they score. I want to emphasize how incredible Holmes was. It was asked post-match by a commenter if I thought she should be a transfer target for Vanderbilt. If Holmes enters the portal, Vanderbilt should be the first team reaching out with Sara Wojdelko gone after this season. That is not an indictment of her deputies this season, but Holmes is an all-conference caliber goalkeeper even if she makes the move to a power conference like the SEC.
Focusing back on Vanderbilt, shots came from everywhere and everyone. Eight Commodores attempted multiple shots with four more taking one swing. Four of the eight with multiple attempts put multiple on target. Courtney Jones scored on a 37th minute free kick that I vocally called before it happened. Her free kicks should have other teams scared to commit fouls around the top of the box within 25 yards of goal.
After the extended break by not having a Sunday contest, the stage is set for a ranked vs ranked matchup on West End. Vanderbilt enters at #25 in the United Soccer Coaches’ Poll and #16 according to TopDrawerSoccer.com. The Georgetown Hoyas arrive at #16 and #14 in those polls, respectively. This match will be a very good tune-up for SEC play, just like the Memphis match was.
The Hoyas are coming off a 13-4-4 (8-1-1) season where they were the #1 seed in the Big East tournament but fell in their first match, the semifinal after a first-round bye, to the 5-seed UConn. This match is also a return of last season’s opener for both teams when Vanderbilt traveled to Georgetown and neither team scored. Georgetown’s season would end after losing to #3 Iowa in the 2nd round of the NCAA Tournament 1-0. Their 2025 has gotten off to a solid start with wins against James Madison (4-0) and at Virginia Tech (2-1) sandwiched between draws against Old Dominion (2-2) and at Virginia (1-1). This is the third match in a three-game road trip that ends with a return home to face South Carolina on Sunday.
Georgetown should be expecting an even better season since they return 72% (31/43) of their goals scored and 86% (31/36) of their assists from 2024. Leading goalscorer and tied for leading assist provider Maja Lardner has followed up her 11 goal and 7 assist campaign by already netting 5 times, though she is yet to set anyone else up for a goal. Natalie Means matched Lardner’s assists last season and also added a third-best 5 goals. She has assisted 3 times in 4 games. The only notable losses in terms of attacking contributions were Eliza Turner (8 goals and 1 assist) and Claire Manning (6 assists).
Georgetown also brings back their goalkeeper who started 20 of 21 matches. Cara Martin was the Big East Goalkeeper of the Year and had a 0.28 Goals Against Average. She only allowed three (3!!!) goals all season. She did split time with the since-graduated Anna Karpenko who played 811 minutes (42.9% of the minutes on the season) and was also very effective.
The only potential concern is the loss of defenders Renie Lawson and Erika Harwood. They were the only two players listed on the roster as defenders who started 14 or more matches. My assumption is that Georgetown uses a back 4 and has fullbacks listed as midfielders, or maybe it was a back 3 with a defensive midfielder in the 3. Either way, it may be a slight concern since a team that gave up 0.48 goals per game has given up 1.00 goals per game early in their schedule. Some of that may revert during conference play since, unlike Vanderbilt, their conference schedule is not going to be as tough as the non-conference games against Virginia Tech, Virginia, Vanderbilt, and South Carolina.
Tonight’s match is Student Organization Night, so there will likely be some recognition for campus organizations. Kickoff is at 7 PM Central time from the Vanderbilt Soccer/Lacrosse Complex. If you cannot attend but are free to watch, the match will be streamed on SECN+ (free if you have SEC Network in your cable, satellite, or streaming package). Due to my coaching commitments, I will not be able to attend. My game will end about halftime of the Vanderbilt game, so you may get some late-game commentary. Ruffians, the helm is yours.
