Rain showers brought slippery conditions to the pitch early in the match, but it was the Vanderbilt Commodores who were able to send a shower of shots into the back of the net, defeating Texas A&M 6-0 on Thursday, Oct. 5 in Nashville, Tennessee.
The Commodores outshot the Aggies 16-9, and had eight shots on goal compared to the Aggies’ three.
“It was one of those nights where everything they hit seemed to find the side netting,” coach G Guerrieri said. “They were really organized in their runs and their services to each other in the box. They finished off some great goals.”
Vanderbilt struck first in the 26th minute after A&M graduate goalkeeper Grace McCellan and Aggie junior defender Macy Matula collided inside the box as they tried to stop an incoming pass from the left wing. Commodore freshman forward Ella Eggleston was able to capitalize, as she simply tapped in the rebound off of her right foot.
The Commodores were able to double their advantage off of another pass from the left side just under 3 minutes later. This time junior forward Addie Porter was able to find fellow junior forward Rachel Derskey, who sent a soft shot to the bottom right of the net that sent McCellan diving in vain.
Deresky was the only Commodore with multiple goals, as she finished the night with two scores on three shots.
Aggie senior forward Jazmine Wilkinson had A&M’s only shot on goal in the first half with just over 14 minutes remaining in the period, as she found herself enough running room to send a shot straight ahead that Vanderbilt senior goalkeeper Kate Devine was able to handle safely.
Devine kept a complete clean sheet in the match, earning three saves along the way.
McCellan got her first of two saves off of yet another run by Vanderbilt from the left wing, as the Commodores sent a pass back to just beyond the 20-yard box when Porter fired a shot that McCellan was able to harmlessly deflect away.
The Commodores found the goal again, as senior defender Alex Wagner’s cross from the left side was deflected off of the head of an A&M defender and straight to senior midfielder Abi Brighton — who was then able to send in a low shot that snuck just within the far post and beyond the reach of a diving McCellan to give Vanderbilt a 3-0 lead in the 39th minute.
A&M’s final chance of the first half came in in the final minute of play, as graduate forward Sammy Smith found herself all alone and sent in an attempt that sailed toward the center of the goal just over the outstretched hands of Devine — and just over the top of the crossbar.
In the 49th minute, Porter was able to add Vanderbilt’s fourth score of the night as McCellan came off her line to contain Porter’s run, when she was able to maneuver around the Aggie keeper and found herself all alone in front of a wide-open net for an easy goal.
Porter was one of two Vanderbilt players to have both a goal and an assist in the match, along with Brighton.
Aggie sophomore midfielder Sydney Becerra secured the Aggie’s second shot on target less than 30 seconds later with a shot sent to the top of the net, but Devine stopped the chance while standing still to keep her clean sheet intact.
The Commodores grew the gap to 5-0 after Deresky secured her brace with a shot from just outside the 20-yard box that once again beat a diving McCellan to the bottom left of the goal in the 58th minute of play.
Vanderbilt sophomore forward Caroline Betts hammered the final nail in the coffin home with an 81st minute header off of a corner kick from Brighton that was able to sneak into the goal after a mad scramble just in front of the net.
The 6-0 win was the most goals the Commodores had scored in an SEC match since an 8-0 drubbing of South Carolina in 2000.
“We were poor in our execution,” Guerrieri said. “Our players picked the wrong night to have a poor performance against a team that was really, really sharp. In this league, you can’t have a night like that and expect anything other than this outcome.”
A&M returns home to face the Alabama Crimson Tide at Ellis Field on Sunday, Oct. 8, at Ellis Field.