No. 1/1 Vanderbilt drop thriller to Texas in postseason opener
PENSACOLA, Fla. – No. 1 Vanderbilt’s comeback effort came up short against ninth-seeded Texas, falling 2-1 in the SEC quarterfinals at Ashton Brosnaham Soccer Complex.
The Commodores (16-1-1, 9-0-1 SEC) suffered their first defeat of the season, conceding two goals for the first time since the season-opener. They had a season-high 32 shots to the Longhorns’ four, but could only find the net once through Megan Hinnenkamp.
Caroline Swann opened the scoring for Texas (9-4-6, 3-3-4 SEC) just 43 seconds into the match, and Ava McDonald doubled their advantage at the half-hour mark, with both goals coming on the counterattack. There was no lack of intensity from the Dores, with 24 of their season-high shot total coming in the second half, but their attempts were stifled 10 times by Texas keeper Flynn Bayliss.
With 10 minutes to play, Melania Fullerton’s shot was tipped off the crossbar and right into the path of Hinnenkamp, who calmly headed it home for her seventh of the season. The pressure ramped up, but none of Vanderbilt’s final five shots were able to find the back of the net.
The Dores will learn their NCAA Tournament fate on Monday at 3 p.m. CT.
