After frustrating finishes against UMass and Kansas, Vanderbilt Soccer righted the ship on Sunday with a 2-0 win over Nashville rival Belmont Bruins. The Commodores dominated possession for the full 90 minutes and out-shot the Bruins 20-2.
“Any time you win and have a shutout it’s a good day,” head coach Darren Ambrose told The Hustler. “We expected to dominate possession. We did.”
Vanderbilt got its first three shots of the game courtesy of senior Jada Konte in the opening 15 minutes. The Commodores got off a few more shots in the minutes to follow, but the dam didn’t break until the 27th minute when Maya Antoine crossed a corner kick to Ella Eggleston for a header that ricocheted off the left foot of Rachel Deresky and found its way into the goal.
With a 1-0 advantage, the Commodores let off the gas until the 34th minute when Eggleston rebounded her own saved shot attempt and punched it back into the net with her right foot. That marked the second goal for the freshman on the season and complemented the assist she earned earlier on Deresky’s goal.
“I had to calm down,” Eggleston said. “I took a breath, placed it, and that was it.”
Through the first 45 minutes, Belmont got off only a single shot attempt that was easily parried by Kate Devine. It was said by one deputy sports editor that Devine “could’ve been drinking a cup of tea for the first half.”
After an exhilarating halftime performance by a border collie that leaped several feet into the air to catch frisbees, both teams resumed the action in largely the same manner they ended it: with Vanderbilt dribbling the air out of the ball.
The Commodores monopolized possession for the opening 20 minutes of the second half while playing back and only attempting two shots. Between the 65th and 85th minutes, they accelerated the tempo and earned a pair of corner kicks for their troubles. None of their five shots during this period found the back of the net, but the pressure kept Belmont on the defensive for long enough to secure the victory.
The Bruins would finish the game with only two shots and one on goal — a disappointing outing for a team that scored in its opening three games for the first time since 2018. That drops Belmont to 1-2-1 on the season.
Despite the shutout, Vanderbilt’s inability to convert chances into goals in the second half was reminiscent of its prior disappointing performances.
“I thought we’d break them down a little bit more than we did to be honest with you,” Ambrose said. “When you play the game within 40 yards of their goal, you expect to generate more chances than we did.”
With the victory, Vanderbilt gets its first win since the season opener and moves to 2-0-2. The Commodores are now 3-0 all-time against the Bruins and have never conceded a goal to their intra-city opponents.
Vanderbilt Soccer will be back in action on Thursday, Aug. 31 when they host Kansas State (2-0-2).
