The NCAAs Womens Soccer Tournament kicks off today. The Vanderbilt Commodores, fresh off winning the SEC Tournament, have earned a 1-seed and will host Tennessee Tech in the First Round tonight at 7 PM Central. The match at the Vanderbilt Soccer/Lacrosse Complex is a ticketed (general admission) event. Tickets can be purchased through Vanderbilt. Limited supplies remain. Children 2 and under do not need a ticket. Children 3-12 are $10. Adults are $15.
The weather tonight is expected to be a beautiful, cool fall evening. At kickoff, the temperature will be 62 degrees Fahrenheit according to AccuWeather. A slight breeze will make it feel like 60. The temperature will drop slightly during the match to 57 degrees, with a RealFeel of 55. There is a 0% chance of precipitation for the duration.
If you cannot make it out to West End this evening, the match will be streamed on ESPN+. Yes, you will need the legacy ESPN+ subscription or one of the new ESPN Unlimited subscription options.
Tonights opponent is a local one. Tennessee Tech has made the roughly 100-mile trip across I-40 from Cookeville. The Golden Eagles were 7-6-8 (6-0-3) this season. They are on an 11-match unbeaten run that dates back to September 14th. They are 7-0-4 in that stretch. TTU is the OVCs sole representative in the NCAA Tournament after earning the automatic qualification as tournament champion.
It will be TTUs second appearance in the NCAA Tournament and first since 2000. This is also the first time making the First Round proper since their last appearance was in a play-in round. The tournament was only 48 teams in 2000 with a preliminary First Round made up by the bottom 32 teams. The field would expand to the current 64 in 2001.
The Golden Eagles only played one major conference opponent this season, and it was on a trip to West End. In that early season contest, Vanderbilt dominated in a 6-0 romp. The goalscoring started in the 27th when Sydney Watts and Susanna Soderman combined at the top of the box with Soderman putting the shot beyond a diving Maggie Conrad. Maci Teater would put an emphatic second goal on the board just before halftime when she fired a rocket from 20+ yards.
The score snowballed in the second half as Watts would score twice in the 69th and 70th minutes. Olivia Stafford capped the night off with a brace (2 goals) of her own in the 73rd and 88th minutes. The first goal for Watts was just her outclassing defenders on the dribble in the box then firing a shot low and beyond Conrad. Then Adysen Armenta played a cross that found Watts back post for a signature finish. Staffords goals both came on corner kicks with the first being a header while she caught the second on her instep.
Vanderbilts defense totally stifled TTU that day. SEC Goalkeeper of the Year Sara Wojdelko did not have to make a save in 56 minutes of action. Alexa Gianoplus was given the last 34 minutes and only had to make 2 saves. The Golden Eagles only attempted 6 shots in total while Vanderbilt attempted 19 and put 12 on frame.
The match held serve for the all-time series between the two schools. Vanderbilt has won all 7 meetings. The 2021 and 2017 meetings, the most recent before this season, were both 1-0 OT wins for Vanderbilt, which means they would have been draws under the current rules. The 4 meetings prior to 2017 were 2-0, 4-1, 6-0, and 2-0 dating backwards to 2003.
This years Golden Eagles squad has a trio of players who can cause some trouble in the attack. Natalie Howard and Katie Toney each have 7 goals and 2 assists. Lucia Cuadra has 5 goals and 5 assists. None of them were able to trouble Vanderbilt in the first meeting, but they should still be respected.
In goal, Maggie Conrad has started all 21 matches this season. She has allowed 25 goals for a 1.18 GAA and made 82 saves for a 0.766 SV%. In fairness to her, almost a quarter of her goals allowed on the season were against Vanderbilt in the first meeting. None of the goals allowed were ones that I would blame a goalkeeper for allowing. If Vanderbilt is not as clinical as they were in August and if the defenders can apply just a bit more pressure to the attackers, she could be tough to solve.
Vanderbilt, as a 1 seed, should cruise through the First Round. The early-season meeting would agree, but a little revenge factor could come into play. Coach Darren Ambrose will have his team mentally prepared though. They always come into these knockout games prepared for the pressure.
The Commodores have won 4 of their last 6 First Round matches. Two of those wins came as hosts while the other two were at Clemson and Columbus, Ohio. One of the other matches was a draw at Clemson where the Tigers advanced on Penalty Kicks. The only loss was the 2020 NCAA Tournament which was actually played in May of 2021. That match was in Cary, NC due to the COVID format changes. Vanderbilt is 2-0-0 as an NCAA Tournament host.