Coming off a heartbreaking overtime loss to Florida on Friday night at the Vanderbilt University Soccer Complex, the Commodores earned their first victory of the Southeastern Conference slate against the University of South Carolina. In a hard fought contest, the Commodores beat the
Gamecocks 2-1.
"For our team to come out and fight that way they did, coming off a heart-breaker of a loss on Friday in overtime," said Vanderbilt coach Ronnie Coveleskie, "I'm extremely proud of everything our girls did today. I though we fought as a team for our seniors."
Sophomore Megan Kinsella put the Commodores on the board nearly 25 minutes in with a 16-yard strike from the corner.
"That was a pretty crappy cross," Kinsella said. "I wasn't trying to shoot, because that was such a bad angle for shooting so ... I got lucky with that one."
Kinsella was assisted on the play by her sister sophomore Molly Kinsella.
Not to be outdone, Molly Kinsella added another goal for the Commodores, on an assist from sister Megan. At the 55-minute mark, Kinsella connected from six yards out and a ricochet from a South Carolina defender.
"The other girl re-directed it from the other team," Kinsella said. "The goalie got caught up."
After her two-goal performance against Florida, Molly Kinsella stands alone with five goals on the year, leading the Commodores.
The South Carolina cut the Vanderbilt lead to 2-1, with 15 minutes remaining in regulation. A Vanderbilt defender kicked in a pass by Gamecock forward Kayla Grimsey. The late score notwithstanding, goalkeeper Rachel Bachtel turned in a solid effort, with eight saves.
"We got a goal early. We went up in the first half, which was good for us and made (it) easy to back that up," Bachtel said. "The rest of the game was defensive. Our defenders did a great job."
The Senior Day victory was extremely significant for the Commodores, as it comes on the heels of a four game road trip. Moreover, six of the last even contests to close the season are away from Nashville.
Senior forward Amy Wilcox stated, "Our team is starting to come together and play really well. Getting a win today was huge for us, because we have a lot of really hard games."
Wilcox felt the victory was crucial heading into a tough road trip.
"Going into this game we were 0-3, and winning on the road is much harder against teams such as Georgia and Tennessee," Wilcox said. "Going in with one win is putting us in better position to reach the tournament."
With the senior leadership of Wilcox, standout tandem of the Kinsella sisters and goal play of Bachtel, the Commodores look primed to finish the season strong and carry the momentum into the SEC tournament.
