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You cannot lose a lead much later than that…
One Vanderbilt team hosted the #1 team in the country who was coming off winning the as-advertised Game of the Year (for now). Another group of Commodores squared off with the #24 team whose last outing was a 2-0 loss against the #2 team. Which squad in Black and Gold came out aggressive and confident? Inexplicably, it was the one facing a seemingly invincible juggernaut. They were the football team in their victory over Alabama that has been the talk of the sports world since it happened.
Two nights before the football game, the Vanderbilt soccer team welcomed #24 South Carolina to West End by scoring in the first minute then playing the most passive, uninspired soccer that I have seen from them this season. Coach Ambrose had them playing in a back 4 that twisted between a 4-3-3 and 4-4-2 in the first half before being clearly a 4-4-2 for the second half. The last time I remember them employing that formation was with a tight diamond formation in either the 2022 or 2023 pre-season then maybe once or twice early in that season it appeared for short, tactical situations. The passive tactics saw the Commodores hold on for dear life until a 90’ defensive collapse allowed the Gamecocks to equalize and pick up a draw they deserved.
Being outshot, outpossessed, and out-cornered that strongly at home against a team Vanderbilt should fully be able to go toe-to-toe with is frustrating. Bluntly, Coach Ambrose neutered the attack out of fear for 1 South Carolina player, who was not even the one who scored the tying goal. If you give a team 15 shot attempts when they had previously been scoring once every 5.9 shots, they are probably going to put one home eventually.
Vanderbilt was without Hannah McLaughlin, which did present some challenges. Still, with Hinton, Mary Beth McLaughlin, and Alex Wagner all capable of playing 90 minutes, it was making a mountain out of a mole hill to swap tactics so drastically. It pulled Addie Porter back to RB for the second match in a row. She is perfectly fine there, and the back 4 is not inherently bad. However, doing it in a 4-4-2 limits how she and Wagner at LB can push forward and join the attack, which would be the biggest benefit of a back 4.
Bringing Mia Gonzalez on to play RM was also a decision that worked very poorly since her lack of pace meant everything down that side was slow-developing and easy to defend while requiring Porter to stay very deep to cover for her. Coach Ambrose seems to see something in Gonzalez that I cannot, similarly to Tina Bruni a year ago. At the very least, keep her up top at striker where she can somewhat contribute in buildup as a target for holding the ball up as the midfielders join the attack and as an aerial threat in the box.
I would much rather see Nyela Calnek, Ellie Fife, and Ava Slay get some minutes at RM/LM with their higher pace to help attack and defend the huge space that is expected of a wide midfielder in the 4-4-2. Also, I am assuming Ella Eggleston is still struggling with an injury since she did not see the field at all.
The Commodores and their 5-2-5 (0-2-3) record head to College Station, Texas, to face the 8-5-0 (3-2-0) Texas A&M Aggies. The weak non-conference schedule (0 ranked opponents like the Commodores) gave way to a tough start to conference play. A layup at Missouri (1-0 W) was followed by home matches with Oklahoma (1-2 L) and #5 Auburn (4-1 W) then trips to #13 Texas (0-2 L) and Ole Miss (4-1 W).
The Aggies are a bit free-wheeling. They have 26 goals but have allowed 16, too. They are taking 17.7 shots per game while facing 9.5.
The goals come from a committee, more like Vanderbilt than the past two Vanderbilt opponents. Sydney Becerra is the most involved player with 5 goals and 4 assists, both of which lead the team. In terms of goals she is followed closely by Grace Ivey (4), Mia Pante (3), and Jazmine Wilkinson (3). Three more Aggies have a pair of goals.
Setups come from an even more varied cast. Taylor Jernigan and Macy Matula each have 3 assists with 6 more players having a assisted twice.
The goalkeeping has been interesting for Texas A&M. Two freshmen and a graduate student have started matches, and they have not made any mid-match goalkeeping substitutions. Freshman Maysen Veronda started the season opener and made all 3 necessary saves in a 5-0 romp. She then suffered a season-ending injury in training. Fellow first-year Sydney Fuller stepped in to start the next 4 matches before missing 3 in a row then reclaim the spot between the sticks for the next 5 leading into tonight. The middle 3 were started by graduate student Grace McClellan. McClellan also had 5 starts last season for the Aggies. I assume injuries kept Fuller out, but McClellan also allowed 6 goals while making only 5 saves against UConn in her final match before Fuller’s return.
Fuller is hard to judge by her stats. She is only allowing 1.11 goals per game but also has a 0.730 save percentage. With any freshman goalkeeper, my plan would always been to test her early and often. Do not be afraid to shoot from distance. See what she can do. Put some crosses in around her to find her limits for claiming them.
This is not an offensive juggernaut nor is it an impenetrable defense. They are a team on Vanderbilt’s level. The Commodores need to step onto the field and take the game to them. They have the talent to do so but have not put themselves in the best positions over the past few matches. There is a propensity to play more cautiously on the road, but winless through the first half of the SEC slate means the Commodores cannot afford to be cautious. Vanderbilt must be the aggressor.
Tonight’s kickoff is at 7 PM Central from Ellis Field in College Station, Texas. I will be sporadic on any insight as I have other plans (Nashville Predators opening night) but will be watching from my phone to have thoughts at halftime and postgame. The stream will be on SEC Network+.
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