Following a harrowing defeat to Coastal Carolina, 10-8, the Vanderbilt Commodores bounced back with a gritty 14-13 victory over East Carolina. Brooke Baker led the Commodores with five goals, with Kemper Robinson adding in three goals and Ella Smith adding in two goals alongside two assists. Vanderbilt drew 25 fouls against the Pirates and outshot them 30-18.
“We had to win this game to give ourselves a chance to play in May,” head coach Beth Hewitt said. “All of our focus now goes to getting ready for James Madison and taking it one game at a time.”
Coming off the opening draw, Vanderbilt instantly went to work by isolating Robinson as she charged down the alley to put pressure on the goalkeeper. Although her shot would be saved, a costly turnover gave the Commodores the ball back. Smith would strike first as she lost her defender and ripped a shot past the Pirates’ goalie. Keeping the foot on the gas, the Commodores came right back into their offensive sets, utilizing a flurry of passes to open up a shot for Anna Taraboletti, who made the score 2-0.
From there, the first quarter was entirely one-sided. An explosion of scoring came from Vanderbilt with five different Commodores earning goals in the opening period of play. Smith got her second goal of the day with Logan Risenhoover, Baker and Robinson also adding to the goal total. Defensively, Vanderbilt was getting to the ball quickly and cutting off lanes for East Carolina, who only managed to get off two shots, both of which were for goals. By the end of the first quarter, the Commodores led 8-2.
After making a change in goal, East Carolina’s defense began to settle in. Besides a flashy hat-trick goal from Baker, the Pirates repelled Vanderbilt’s advances for most of the second period. On the other end, the Pirates were able to snag an early goal but still struggled to get anything going on the offensive end. That was until East Carolina drew a free-position attempt, allowing Leah Bestany to wind up and send a blistering shot past Paige Gunning to make it 9-4.
As the half winded down, Baker was able to respond for Vanderbilt, logging her fourth goal of the day. However, East Carolina was building its momentum, turning Vanderbilt’s empty possessions into quick opportunities on the offensive end. The Pirates would score two unanswered before Robinson stalled their surge by picking up a groundball that popped out of the goalie’s stick and launching it into the net. The Commodores finished the first half up 11-6 and were outshooting East Carolina 20-9.
With the pace of play slowing down, both teams exchanged possessions and shot attempts, and neither team was able to create any significant breathing room. Sammy Nuchow got her second goal of the season to push the lead to 12-6 but Emily Stratton struck back after a great pass from Frances Kimel to cut the Commodore lead to five. That goal seemed to spark East Carolina, as Frances and Regina Di Chiara each scored goals, causing Vanderbilt to pull Paige Gunning from goal in favor of Lexie de Roziere.
As East Carolina found another goal towards the end of the third quarter, the pressure was mounting on Vanderbilt to right the course of the game. Molly Finlay was able to score first in the fourth period for Vanderbilt, but East Carolina’s Riley Matthiesen retaliated with a goal of her own. A Pirates’ penalty gave up the ball in their own defensive third, letting Vanderbilt control possession and work the clock with less than ten minutes to play. Yet, East Carolina held strong, holding Vanderbilt at bay for 90 seconds before taking control of the ball, marching down the field and getting another clean shot off to diminish the lead to one singular goal.
Vanderbilt and East Carolina would both score once more, leaving the game at 14-13 in the Commodores’ favor with two minutes to go. The Pirates would win the draw, but a misfired pass would go out of bounds, giving possession back to Vanderbilt. From there, Vanderbilt was able to hold onto the ball to draw out the clock, ending the match.
“I kept telling the team we knew we had to withstand another punch in the second half,” Hewitt said. “The girls did a really good job of staying composed and staying together.”
Next up, Vanderbilt will travel to Harrisonburg, Va. to take on James Madison on Saturday, April 20 at 11 a.m. CST.
