Vanderbilt soccer experienced their first turbulence since the opening match against SMU when they finished their Houston trip at the University of Houston. Former Texas A&M Aggie Bailey Cate would get the Cougars on the board in the 9th minute. That score held until halftime. Just after the break, where Houston’s Head Coach Ben Williams said his team was “hanging on” as the half wound down, a mishap between defender and goalkeeper left a ball sitting pretty for Sydney Watts with only a defender on the goal line
to stop her. Watts leveled the game with no drama.
The reigning SEC Forward of the Year then broke her strict “1 goal per game” rule that had held in 2026 by scoring a second goal. This one was another case of “right place, right time” as a poor clearance fell to her feet just outside the 6-yard box. Again the net bulged.
Williams was accurate in his halftime assessment. Houston was holding on for dear life most of the match. Doing so against Vanderbilt’s lethal attack is not a recipe for success. Eventually, the pressure is going to show and mistakes will happen. Now, Houston did get some attacking movement of their own and was able to piece together some significant possession in the middle half of the field. It just was never productive enough to trouble the Vanderbilt defense or Gianoplus in goal.
As against SMU, the reserve usage shrank even on a blistering hot and humid Texas day. The Commodores had been using 20-22 players in their recent run of smooth sailing victories. Down to 17 players, they still used enough substitutes to keep players fresh and play flowing. It just shows how the roster can expand or constrict.
The 2-1 victory nudged up a spot to #2 in the TopDrawerSoccer rankings while United Soccer Coaches still have them at #3. The Commodores come home after their only 2 road non-conference games to finish the non-conference slate with Tennessee Tech tonight and reigning Big East champion Xavier on Sunday for a champion vs. champion bash deserving of WWE PPV.
First, the Golden Eagles come to Nashville from Cookeville. Their season is off to a rocky start at 2-1-2. Their problem has been goal scoring. They have won both of the matches in which they scored while only allowing their opponent to score in one match all season when North Alabama tallied twice. Having 2 Goals For and 2 Goals Against 5 matches into the season is a brutally low event.
Tech has only attempted 39 shots (7.8 per game) while opponents have gotten off 53 attempts (10.6 per game). The offensive struggles could probably be expected to some extent. They only returned 9 of 28 (32%) goals scored and 7 of 23 (30%) of assists provided in 2025. Natalie Howard tied for the team lead with 7 goals last season, but no one else returned with multiple goals scored. Tori Soutuyo scored once and assisted 4 times last season and has one of the two goals this season. Ebba Melin scored the other 2025 goal for TTU.
Defensively, the Golden Eagles returned 3 22-match starters in Anna Baker, Abigail Davis, and Ebba Melin.
In goal, Maggie Conrad started all 22 games between the sticks in 2025. She is gone and replaced by now-Sophomore Laila McNamee. McNamee did not play at all in 2025. She has started 3 of the 4 matches but split time with fellow sophomore Drew Tolley, who joined after 2 appearances for Sam Houston State in 2025. McNamee has played 270 minutes versus 180 for Tolley. It seems like a close competition, but McNamee has been given most of the starts.
Only allowing 2 goals all season is somewhat impressive. It would be moreso if the schedule did not consist of Belmont (0-0 away), Austin Peay (1-0 road win), Radford (1-0 home win), North Alabama (2-0 road loss), and Kennesaw State (0-0 home). That schedule is so soft. Vanderbilt is so far and away better than any opponent Tennesse Tech has faced that they could find themselves drowning early.
Tonight’s kickoff for Student Night has been pushed back to 7 PM due to intense heat after originally being scheduled for 6 PM. There are student-exclusive concession discounts along with a Vanderbilt soccer pin giveaway. Tickets are available for $10. The match will bestreamed on SEC Network+.
