The SEC soccer season moves into conference play this weekend. There were two matches yesterday and everyone else plays today. In their infinite wisdom, the SEC and ESPN have decided that Tennessee-Mississippi State will be on ESPNU while all other matches will be relegated to SEC Network+ to make sure SEC Now can air for 3 straight hours before showing a replay of Michigan-Oklahoma.
Vanderbilt gets to this inflection point in the season at 6-1-0 with the only blemish coming in a 1-0 loss at undefeated
Memphis who was #24 but is now #10. The wins include #16 Georgetown and Louisville, which both came at home. The Commodores are ranked #13 in both the United Soccer Coaches poll and TopDrawerSoccer’s rankings. They have outscored opponents 18-2 on aggregate and are attempting 19.2 shots per game while opponents can only manage 7.8.
In attack, Sydney Watts leads the way with 4 goals and an assist. Olivia Stafford and Courtney Jones have both scored 3 times with Stafford also assisting on another. Stafford’s fellow freshman Reagan Pentz has not put the ball into the net yet, but she has provided the pass for 4 goals to lead the team. Meanwhile, the primary back 3 of Hannah McLaughlin, Mary Beth McLaughlin, and Margo Matula have done the defensive work to make goalkeeper Sara Wojdelko’s life fairly simple. Wojdelko made 9 of her 15 saves on the season in the win over Georgetown and has compiled a 0.309 goals against average thanks to a 0.882 save percentage behind the stellar defending.
In their last non-conference contest, Vanderbilt dominated Middle Tennessee State in a match played at MTSU. The Commodores had 10 shots to the Blue Raiders’ 0. Yes, keeping the opponent from shooting at all IS a good way to avoid a loss. Some lackluster finishing kept the Dores from scoring more than once.
As you can see by the possession, it was not for a lack for possession in dangerous areas. Over a third (35%) of the match was spent with Vanderbilt in possession in the attacking half. Of that, 14 minutes was within 30 yards of the MTSU goal. The finishing was not up to Vanderbilt’s usual standards, but the passing in and around the MTSU penalty area also squandered a few chances.
The attack was spread out with only Watts firing more than once. The 50% on-target rate is fine. Not great but fine. A sneaky indicator of how Vanderbilt controlled the game is the fouls. Only 1 foul was called on a Vanderbilt defender or central midfielder. Although, Grace Freeman has played some LCB, and I cannot recall where she was playing when committing her two fouls. The fouls generally happening up the field or out wide indicates an MTSU attack that could not put too much pressure on the Commodores’ back line and dangerous areas down the middle.
The first SEC opponent is going to test the backline with one of the leading goalscorers in the SEC. Ava Galligan has scored 5 times in 8 matches with 3 of them being game winners. She attempts 3 shots per game by herself. Galligan is not the only dangerous Bayou Bengal. Ida Hermannsdottir has 3 goals and 2 assists so far, and the Icelandic international (2 appearances for the full senior team) scored 8 goals in 2024.
LSU returns 24 of their 33 goals from a season ago. The concern was that only Galligan and Hermannsdottir came back having scored more than 2 goals. Granted, only Andrea Iljkic scored more than twice and departed. She tallied 4 goals and an assist a year ago. Setting up goals saw a little more turnover, but 11 of 17 assists (64%) are still on the roster. Sydney Cheesman was LSU’s leader with 4 helpers and is back. Of note, only 17 of LSU’s 33 goals were assisted in 2024. The setup play seems to be better so far with 13 of 17 goals having a credited assist.
Defensively, Cheesman, Jazmin Ferguson, and Jocelyn Ollivierre all return after playing 1400+ minutes. Caley Swierenga was the only major loss on the back end.
Behind them, both starting goalkeepers returned, but their roles appear to have switched. Audur Scheving had17 starts with a 1.76 GAA and 0.659 SV%. Sophine Kevorkian had 4 starts with a 1.00 GAA and 0.800 SV%. This season, Kevorkian has started 7 of the 8 matches and has a 1.34 GAA and 0.667 SV%. Sheving has started once and made one other appearance with a seemingly stellar 0.00 GAA and 1.000 SV%. She has only faced 1 shot in her 117 minutes of action between matches against Florida Gulf Coast and Utah. Kevorkian’s save percentage suggests there may be an opportunity if Vanderbilt can generate any volume of shots.
Tonight’s match kicks off from the Vanderbilt Soccer/Lacrosse Complex at 7 PM Central. Get there early (free admission!) for a Vanderbilt soccer scarf giveaway. Wear black for the Black Out theme. I will be watching on my phone from Columbia, South Carolina. As noted earlier, the match will be streamed on SEC Network+.
