After a 3-0 win against Columbia last weekend, Vanderbilt Soccer (3-0-2) returned to the Plex for its fourth consecutive home game against Kansas. The game ended in a 0-0 deadlock as the Commodore offense struggled to gain momentum.
“It was the ugliest 90 minutes I’ve ever seen played on this field,” head coach Darren Ambrose said after the game. “I thought it was horrific. I thought we let them impose their will on us, and I thought we responded not very well.”
Vanderbilt attacked the Jayhawks’ defense early as Rachel Deresky put a shot on goal in the game’s opening minutes. The Commodores dominated possession through the first 20 minutes but struggled to find the back of the net as the game remained scoreless. With the score still even early on, Ambrose put Ella Eggleston in for Sydney Watts, hoping to spark the offense.
The substitution proved futile as the Jayhawks’ defense shut down the Commodores. Abi Brighton put a booming free kick on goal that was ultimately caught by Kansas’ goalkeeper Sophie Dawe. The Jayhawks came storming back down the field with a sharp counterattack as Lexi Watts was left open at the edge of the box. Her shot just narrowly missed high, keeping the game scoreless through 30 minutes.
A great cross from Deresky just in front of the goal with six minutes remaining in the half represented a missed opportunity for the Commodores as the game entered halftime. Vanderbilt held the majority of the possession in the first 45 minutes of the game but overall struggled to get past a tough Kansas defense. The disconnect between Vanderbilt’s midfielders and forwards was evident.
As the second half commenced, Vanderbilt made some offensive adjustments as it looked to put points on the board. Eggleston was later subbed out for Melania Fullerton in the Commodores’ 4-3-3 formation.
Vanderbilt kept the pressure on and even earned a corner kick, but the opportunity was squandered as a Kansas defender headed it out of the box. Both sides then exchanged shots on goal as Brighton chipped a shot over a defender’s head, but Dawe stopped the ball before another Commodore could knock it in.
With 15 minutes remaining in the game, Kansas seemed to threaten as Watts crossed the ball in front of the Vanderbilt goal, but it went just wide of the net, and the match remained scoreless.
Vanderbilt pushed the ball downfield and earned a free kick just outside the box with ten minutes remaining, but Courtney Jones failed to replicate her free kick success from last week as she kicked it right at the keeper. A Vanderbilt corner provided another ray of hope, but it turned into disaster for the Commodores — Watts found a breakaway on Kansas and faced off one-on-one with goalkeeper Sara Wojdelko. Fantastic pressure from the always-cool Wojdelko forced her to miss right, and the threat was neutralized.
Vanderbilt’s defense started to fatigue as Saige Wimes was left open on the wing and nearly won it for Kansas, but her shot hit the post. Nevertheless, Vanderbilt kept the Jayhawks’ offense at bay until the final whistle blew.
“[Kansas] should’ve scored two goals [in the second half]. [Our team] didn’t apply themselves properly, and there was no discipline,” Ambrose said. “We’ve just got to get back to what we do, which is kick the ball.”
Vanderbilt’s offense never woke up in this Power Four matchup, but the defense remained steady. The Commodores will return to action on Sunday, Sept. 8, at 6:00 p.m. CDT when they face Middle Tennessee.
