Vanderbilt Soccer (5-1-3) suffered its first loss of the season in its SEC home opener against Georgia last week. A fruitless offensive performance sealed the Commodores’ fate against the reigning conference champions, despite generating several goal-scoring chances. Vanderbilt will now look to rebuild momentum and gain its first conference win when it hosts No. 2 Arkansas on Thursday.
The Razorbacks (7-0-1) are red-hot and still undefeated on the season. After an extended homestand in which the team displayed dominating performances against multiple opponents — most recently Missouri — Arkansas will hope to stay hot in Nashville.
Facing another conference heavyweight presents Vanderbilt with an opportunity to show its resilience. With its last two results being a draw and a loss, a win against Arkansas would prove Vanderbilt has staying power. The home-field advantage should be a nice start, but the Commodores will have to be tactically sound to earn a win.
Keepers in turmoil
Leading up to last Thursday’s draw at Auburn, Vanderbilt had only allowed a single goal in its first seven regular season games, thanks to the flawless performance of goalkeeper Sara Wojdelko. After recording four straight clean sheets at home, Wojdelko finally cracked in Vanderbilt’s first conference game, allowing Auburn to score twice on 15 shots. Against Georgia, the Commodores’ defense improved to allow just 10 shots, but the goal that slipped past backup keeper Kate Devine in the first half was enough to put the Bulldogs on top.
While Vanderbilt’s starter in goal against the Razorbacks remains to be seen, Arkansas’ keeper position is also in doubt. In the Razorbacks’ last game, starter Keegan Smith was subbed out at halftime for freshman Emma Parker, who allowed two goals on four shots faced. While Parker’s performance was uninspiring, Smith also didn’t log a single save in her 45 minutes played against Missouri, indicating the starting position could be a toss-up. Vanderbilt’s offense will look to catch either keeper off guard and out of rhythm if it can find opportunities to pierce Arkansas’ stout defense.
Rising to the defensive occasion
Although Vanderbilt’s streak of shutouts has ended, its backline will be pivotal in facilitating a win, as it must lighten the load placed on the goalkeeper’s shoulders. Starting center backs Jessica Hinton and Alex Wagner will hope to recreate the defensive prowess they displayed in early games, allowing Wojdelko to face an average of just 6.5 shots through the season’s first six matches. With the high-level offensive play in the SEC, an increased number of shots was expected; still, if Vanderbilt’s defense can rise to the elite level of its competition, it will have an easier time sustaining success.
Both Georgia and Auburn utilized effective passing to score goals against the ‘Dores, so preventing crosses and rebounds within the box may prove crucial in Thursday’s matchup. At the same time, the Commodores must also defend corner kicks — as they’ve done well since the season began — and should be mindful of maintaining a strong corner defense against an elite Arkansas offense.
Making good on scoring chances
While the defense must improve its consistency, the offense simply needs to do a better job finishing. Vanderbilt offered an adequate 18 shots against Georgia, but only nine went on target and none slipped past the keeper. Pace, passing and passion were certainly abundant in Vanderbilt’s effort on Sunday, but the scoreless result showed flaws in the ending execution.
Six different players took multiple shots against Georgia, but absent from that list were both forwards Sydney Watts and Caroline Betts, who were driving forces behind Vanderbit’s early-season victories. The duo have proved their ability to connect on shots before, but have gone comparatively cold in their last two matches. If Watts and Betts can find their way back to form while their teammates in the midfield continue to contribute, the Commodores will have a solid chance of pushing past Arkansas.
Arkansas may be the most prolific offense the Commodores have faced yet, as it put up a whopping 23 shots (16 on goal) in its 8-2 rout of Missouri. The most immediate threat that Vanderbilt must handle is Razorback midfielder Ava Tankersley, who contributed seven shots in their previous match, connecting on two of them. Also formidable are Makenzie Malham — a fellow midfielder — and forwards Taylor Berman and Anaiyah Robinson.
Vanderbilt will host Arkansas at the Plex for its third SEC game on Sept. 26 at 7 p.m. CDT.
