The First Round of the NCAA Tournament went poorly for the Southeastern Conference. Georgia, an 8 seed, lost 2-0 to Ohio State in Athens. In the same quadrant, 6 seed Mississippi State lost in Starkville 1-0 to Lipscomb. Across the bracket, 8 seed Alabama did slip by Northwestern in penalty kicks. South Carolina fell 2-1 at 7 seed Wake Forest in that same quadrant.
In the section of the bracket paired with Vanderbilt for the Final 4, 6 seed Louisville advanced beyond in-state rival Kentucky on PKs
after a 1-1 draw. 5 seed Arkansas survived an uncomfortably close 1-0 match with Dartmouth.
Vanderbilt’s corner of the bracket provided the most shocking loss for the SEC. Yes, the Commodores handled Tennessee Tech in a comfortable 2-0 contest. LSU, as a 4 seed, skipped by Houston Christian in a 4-1 match. The 3 seed Tennessee would fall 3-1 to North Carolina to the chagrin of league fans but the joy of Commodore fans.
The SEC got 9 teams into the tournament and only 4 advanced to the second round. Of the 5 teams eliminated, 3 were the seeded team and host. The 4 teams that did advance were all the host, so none of them were punching above their seeding.
Vanderbilt will host Clemson this Thursday, November 20th, at 7 PM Central in the Second Round. A full preview of that match will be available on Thursday about 2 hours before kickoff. The Vanderbilt Soccer/Lacrosse Complex will also host the (4) LSU vs (5) Iowa match on Thursday at 4 PM. Tickets for both matches are $15 for adults, $10 for children 3-12 years old, and free for children 2 years old and younger. They are available through Vanderbilt’s online ticket portal.
The Commodores 2-0 win over Tennessee Tech was never really in doubt even if the score stayed closer than the 6-0 drubbing earlier in the season. Oddly, the statistics in the previous contest were closer than they were for the tournament match.
In the first meeting, Vanderbilt only won possession 55-45, and the shot attempt margin was 19 (12) to 6 (2). The difference was that the Commodores were less lethal in front of goal. They were probably a bit too relaxed going into this one based on the beatdown in August. The fine details in front of goal escaped them.
The only moment of concern was Tech’s only shot on goal. Struck from probably 40 yards out with Sara Wojdelko high off her line, it was still going to be an easy save for Wojdelko until she slipped. The body control to get a strong right hand on the ball and send it wide for a corner kick prevented any damage. The score was already 2-0, so the match would not have been tied. Cutting the deficit back to striking distance might have created some uncertainty for the 1 seed and given their presumed sacrificial lambs some hope. Thankfully, the crisis was averted.
It should be noted that the south end of the field, which is where Wojdelko had her fall, caused problems throughout the night. The grass had clearly been replaced in two big rectangles of midfield on either side of the halfway line, but those were not the trouble spots. It was only the south end, which is nearest the David Williams II Recreation and Wellness Center. Olivia Stafford and Reagan Pentz both slipped on plays near the end line where leaves had fallen on the field. Originally, it seemed as if the leaves might be the culprit, but the goal box was clear of them. Hopefully, whatever conditions caused the slick footing are fixed with two matches set to be played on it Thursday then a third on Sunday.
Back to the action, Tech’s only other shot was a similar long range effort that was well wide and was rolling by the time it crossed the end line with Wojdelko just watching it go out of play.
Coach Ambrose used a little more of his bench with how easily his team controlled the flow of the game. In the second half, there was a long stretch where the back three was Adysen Armenta and Grace Freeman, both typically wide midfielders, on either side of Margo Matula.
Sydney Watts was active but was also clearly the Golden Eagles’ primary focus. She was double teamed almost every time she received the ball anywhere near the penalty area. It is a bit ironic that both scorers only had 1 shot attempt each.
Courtney Jones goal started the scoring in the 56th minute when her free kick took a fortuitous deflection off a defender that left Maggie Conrad stranded in Tech’s goal while the ball crossed the line. Mary Beth McLaughlin found herself with nowhere to go but towards goal 5 minutes later and hit a left-footed shot from distance that had just enough dip on it to strike the crossbar and land just across the goal line. It took a long video review to determine if the goal would count after initially not being called a goal on the field.
One telling statistic is that Vanderbilt attempted more than twice as many shots in the second half than they did the first half. After just 6 shots and only 2 on target in the first 45 minutes, they would shoot 15 times with 7 on target in the second frame. That shift also likely points to a bit of a lackadaisical approach coming into the match.
To be clear, I do not think they were unprepared or unfocused. It just lacked the killer instinct. They will need to bring every bit of that sharpness to the second round. As stated above, the full Clemson Tigers preview will be up Thursday. The Tigers have already drawn matches with 2 SEC teams that made the tournament.
