Alabama soccer falls to Vanderbilt on the road
September 21, 2018
Despite scoring several equalizing goals in the second half, Alabama could not complete the comeback and fell to Vanderbilt 3-2 Thursday night in Nashville.
After a late first half goal from Vanderbilt’s Olivia Simmons, Alabama’s Casey Wertz leveled the game for the Crimson Tide in the 59th minute.
Both teams found a way onto the board in the 71st minute, with Vanderbilt retaking the lead through Haley Hopkins, only for Emma Welch to bring Alabama back into it seconds later.
The Commodores found a way to restore their advantage in the 83rd minute through a second goal from Leila Azari to send the Crimson Tide home with its second straight SEC loss.
Alabama created a multitude of chances throughout the second half as it pushed for a third tying goal, outshooting Vanderbilt 11-7, but we’re unable to find net.
“This one hurts,” Head Coach Wes Hart said in a press release. “I’m gutted for the team. They poured their hearts out for this one. I thought we were the more dangerous team in the game, but the score would say otherwise. We created some great chances and their goalkeeper came up huge on a few occasions. Funny game… we were on the end line crossing the ball, it gets deflected and nearly goes out for a corner. Their goalkeeper was able to keep it in play and 30 seconds later they cross one in and score. Vanderbilt is a good team. It’s no fluke that they are 9-1. I give them a ton of credit for marking the most of their chances and finding a way to win this game.”
With the loss, Alabama falls to 6-4-1 on the season, 0-2 in conference play. The win sees Vanderbilt increase to 9-1 on the year, 2-0 in conference play. The Crimson Tide will return home on Sunday, Sept. 23 to host Arkansas.