The Vanderbilt soccer team won its first match over a ranked opponent since the 2022 NCAA Tournament when they knocked off Clemson. No, the match with Florida State does not count as a “win” because it was a draw with penalty kicks determining who advanced in the tournament, not a match winner. I will keep this short and simple since I both did not attend or watch except for the last few minutes of the match AND because kickoff of tonight’s match is soon. I just got back home from Blacksburg.
Vanderbilt,
unlike in previous matches, was not able to be the one controlling play. It is a bit misleading because senior Ally Bolig scored just before halftime to give the Commodores a 1-0 lead that they would refuse to relinquish no matter what Georgetown threw at them. The goal was especially exciting because it was Bolig’s first career goal after battling injuries for 3 years.
The first half shot attempts were 4 for each team. Coach Ambrose and his squad are comfortable absorbing pressure while holding a lead. The defending late in the match was calm and kept most of the shots outside to give Sara Wojdelko good sight on the ball and from facing shots from close range.
The bench usage shrank considerably with Coach Ambrose sticking more to players he could trust under a ton of pressure as they tried to hold onto the tight lead. We should see more Commodores in tonight’s match.
Vanderbilt is heading down I-40 to Murfreesboro to face the Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders. MTSU is 4-2-1 on the season. Their schedule has been an cakewalk thus far with matches at Belmont (2-1 W), South Alabama (0-4 L), and Lipscomb (0-1 L). The home matches have been against Jackson State (3-0 W), Alabama A&M (2-0 W), Indiana State (2-2 D), and West Georgia (3-0 W).
The dangerous options for the Blue Raiders are Taijah Fraser, Emma Pettersen, and Craig Alli. They are the only players with multiple goals. Fraser has scored 3 times and assisted another goal. Petterson has a pair of goals and 3 assists. Alli has scored twice. Of note, Hannah Delaney and Idun Kvaale have not scored but have 2 assists each. The Blue Raiders have, if you counted earlier, have scored 12 goals while allowing 8.
The backstop to that defensive effort is Demi Gronauer who also started all 19 matches in 2024. She has allowed 8 goals in 6 starts (missed one, presumably for injury) and has a 0.667 save percentage. I suspect she is a perfectly fine goalkeeper but is not one Vanderbilt should be unable to solve. The competition MTSU has picked on does not come close to matching the firepower Vanderbilt has.
Tonight’s match kicks off at 6 PM Central from the Dean A. Hayes Track & Soccer Stadium. The match is being streamed on ESPN+. The Blue Raiders should not be able to sneak 13 players onto the field at any point in this contest, so Vanderbilt should handle them fairly easily. The Commodores are 8-1-0 in their history on the pitch against MTSU and have only allowed 6 goals (all in 3 matches). Coach Ambrose revived the series in 2021 after a 9 year hiatus with a 2-1 loss then proceeded to thump MTSU 4-0 in 2022, 6-0 in 2023 (at Geodis Park), and 3-0 in 2024.
