Vanderbilt Soccer took on Florida State in the NCAA Championship Round of 32 on Nov. 22 and emerged victorious. The Commodores — who traveled to FSU’s home stadium — were walking into the den of perhaps the most dominant team in women’s college soccer over the last decade. The Seminoles captured three of the last six national championship trophies while holding a 15-2-3 record this season and have yet to lose a game at home. The No. 8 Commodores — who got into the tournament on an at-large bid — did not back down.
The Commodores emerged with a 3-3 (4-3) victory at the night’s end after two overtimes and penalty kicks, crushing Florida State’s hopes of defending its national championship title. The win also marked a first in program history: a berth to the Round of 16. With all that being said, let’s look at what went right for the Commodores against Florida State and what they must do to win yet another tournament game — this time against a formidable Penn State squad.
Recapping the win over Florida State
Wizarding Wojdelko
To say that Vanderbilt’s goalkeeper Sara Wojdelko was stellar against Florida State is an understatement. Wojdelko, now a senior, saw just 143 minutes of gameplay across four appearances before this season. Against the Seminoles, though, she played all 110 minutes and came up with the game-winning save during penalty kicks.
At the beginning of the season, Wojdelko proved it was her time to be the Commodores’ anchor between the goalposts, winning the starting position over longtime goalie and now graduate student Kate Devine. She impressed throughout the season, accumulating a 10-1 record and a 0.839 save percentage, the latter of which ranked 23rd in the nation.
Wojdelko faced perhaps her biggest career test coming into the matchup against Florida State. The Seminoles boast one of the best offenses in the nation, ranking third in both goals and goals per game (67 and 3.35). They were also riding the momentum of a dominant 8-0 win over Samford in the Round of 64. Wojdelko rose to the challenge, though, nearly tripling her previous career high in saves (5) by denying the Seminoles an astounding 14 times. During penalty kicks, the keeper made her most critical save. With Vanderbilt up 4-3 on the final kick, Wojdelko denied Carissa Boeckmann to keep her team alive and advance to the next round.
on repeat 💥 pic.twitter.com/EdibzPefMy
— Vanderbilt Soccer (@VandySoccer) November 22, 2024
Wojdelko has already had a phenomenal season, but she’s not done yet. She will be key to the Commodores’ success in their matchup against Penn State. Expect her to continue to step up to the challenge in the biggest moments.
Offensive conversion efficiency
Not only did FSU boast a prolific offense headed into the matchup with the Commodores, but its defense was just as formidable. Prior to its matchup against Vanderbilt, Florida State had allowed opponents an average of just 7.8 shots per game and allowed just six goals at its home stadium all season. On the other hand, Vanderbilt was tied for 41st and 42nd in the nation in goals and points per game with 41 and 6.00, respectively. In short, to win its matchup against the Seminoles, Vanderbilt needed to be highly efficient with its offensive opportunities.
“We knew that if we could complete a couple of passes and we could find our forwards and make Florida State have to defend us in their own defensive third then we were good enough to create our own chances,” Vanderbilt head coach Darren Ambrose said postgame.
Efficient is precisely what the Commodores were. They put up just five shots on goal in the game, but that was all they needed. On those five shots, Vanderbilt scored three goals (60% conversion rate), two of which came from junior forward Caroline Betts. Senior Rachel Deresky knocked in the team’s other goal on a masterful strike from right outside of Florida State’s 18-yard box. This efficiency allowed the Commodores to match the total goals of the Seminoles despite just 29% of the opportunities (5 shots on goal to 17). While the effort put forth by Vanderbilt was a complete team performance, the efficiency with which they converted the few opportunities available paid dividends.
on repeat 💥 pic.twitter.com/EdibzPefMy
— Vanderbilt Soccer (@VandySoccer) November 22, 2024
Looking ahead
Matching up with Penn State
The Commodores are now set to face the Penn State Nittany Lions (14-6-3), who are competing in their 30th-straight NCAA Tournament. This season, the Nittany Lions went 5-4-2 in conference play, placing them 10th in the now-18-team Big Ten. Penn State won its first-round matchup over Minnesota in the Big Ten Tournament before dropping its second-round matchup 1-0 against the eventual champion UCLA Bruins.
Penn State received an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament, earning the No. 4 seed. After defeating Stony Brook 8-1 in the first round, Penn State scored the sole goal of its match against No. 5 TCU on Nov. 22 to advance to the Round of 16. The last time Penn State played the Commodores was in the second round of the 2020 NCAA Tournament when Penn State walked away with a 2-0 win. Vanderbilt will use the Nov. 24 matchup as an opportunity to not only continue its historic run but avenge its 2020 defeat.
Dissecting the 3-5-2
Penn State will likely come out in a 3-5-2 — the same formation run by Florida State on Nov. 22. Vanderbilt struggled to keep possession against the heavy midfield of the 3-5-2, turning the ball over often and failing to connect with forwards over the top. Some of this could be attributed to the pure talent of Florida State, of course. But that’s no excuse, as Penn State is another team that fires on all three levels. Vanderbilt might run into problems again.
Ambrose elected to match Florida State and run a 3-5-2 himself early on before dropping a midfielder back to the defense in the late part of the second half. Running either a 4-4-2 or a 4-3-3 — their final formation against Florida State — is likely the best course of action for the Commodores going forward. With these formations, Vanderbilt can once again find optimal scoring opportunities without needing to possess the ball so frequently. The team did a great job of taking smart shots from distance and capitalizing off set pieces, so expect that tactic to come back again against the Nittany Lions.
Where Vanderbilt needs to improve, however, is getting the ball out wide. For a team that has thrived on crosses that turn into volleys, the Commodores didn’t see many of those opportunities against Florida State — their sole volley score came from Betts off a ranging free kick. Against a 3-5-2 defense, the far sides of the field will likely be picked up by the midfielders who are running up and down the pitch. The more the ball is sent wide, the more tired those wings will get and the more opportunities Vanderbilt will get for crosses and scoring opportunities. Bonus points if the wide through balls are picked up by a defender, leading to a much more open 18-yard box where forwards can tee up their volleys in space.
The 3-5-2 also will allow Penn State to win the time of possession battle, one of the team’s keys all season. Vanderbilt applied pressure successfully in the first half against Florida State and prevented danger in its defensive zone. In the second half, however, the Commodores became far too reliant on Wojdelko; and while she stunningly delivered, she can’t be relied on to do that every night (though she probably could). The Black and Gold will need to get more shots on goal against the Nittany Lions than they did against the Seminoles.
Vanderbilt should utilize a counterattack for offensive opportunities against Penn State rather than trying to develop runs from scratch. If the Commodores try too hard to be offensive-minded, they’ll open themselves up to a Penn State midfield who will exploit the counterattack, dissecting mismatches and assignment scrambles. Vanderbilt needs to accept that it’ll have to play patiently and strategically, trusting its offense to exploit mistakes rather than force passes and scoring opportunities in the name of extending possessions.
Nittany Lions to know
Penn State is a well-rounded team led by a three-headed monster of All-Big Ten selections from all three levels of the pitch.
First and most important is No. 14, Kaitlyn MacBean. The redshirt senior leads the offensive charge with 16 goals on the season — good for third in the Big Ten. The sole goal scorer against TCU, MacBean is a threat from almost anywhere on the pitch and, is excellent at finding holes and slipping past the defense for through balls. MacBean has scored in 13 of Penn State’s 23 games, including a hat trick against West Virginia on Aug. 23. Her stellar play earned her a selection to the All-Big Ten First Team this season, adding to her resume that included a 2023 All-Big Ten Third Team selection and a 2022 Big Ten All-Freshman Team selection. MacBean has scored in both Penn State games this NCAA Tournament, so she’ll likely have a wealth of chances against Vanderbilt.
Jordan Fusco, a senior midfielder, is the Luigi to MacBean’s Mario. After spending the last three years at Tennessee, Fusco moved over to Happy Valley and flourished in a facilitative role. While Fusco has only put in three goals this season, she’s tied for first in the Big Ten with 12 assists — including the game-winning dish to MacBean on Nov. 22. Fusco has assisted MacBean on 10 goals so far this season, proving that their chemistry is top notch. Fusco’s talent earned an All-Big Ten Second Team selection to go along with her All-SEC First Team Selection a year ago. Look out for Fusco when she has the ball — she’s always a step ahead.
Defender Mieke Schiemann rounds out the Nittany Lions’ big three. A senior from Germany, Schiemann was also selected to the All-Big Ten Second Team due to her diverse skill set. Not only is she one of the best defenders in the Big Ten, but she also likes to push up and assist on the offensive end. Schiemann has poured in nine goals as well as a pair of assists over the last two seasons. She can strip any ball handler, chase any through ball and body up any attacker. She’s even been trusted with some of the teams’ free kicks — which have sparked scoring opportunities throughout the season. Scheimann is a do-it-all player who impacts winning like few others, so game planning around her needs to be a priority for Ambrose.
The Commodores will only have two days to scout and develop a game plan, so massive changes aren’t expected. But small shifts in focus and style, like the ones listed above, can help edge the match in the Black and Gold’s favor. Also working in their favor, the odds against them. Florida State was heavily favored to win the Nov. 22 match, so there’s a chance an element of surprise has thrown off Penn State’s preparations.
The Commodores have slain the Seminole giant already; now, let’s sit back and see how far they can go. Vanderbilt Soccer will face No. 4 Penn State in the Round of 16 on Nov. 24 at 4:30 p.m. CST at the Seminole Soccer Complex in Tallahassee, Florida.
