What Vanderbilt soccer will take from season-ending Elite Eight loss to TCU

Darren Andrews thought it was a foul.

The Vanderbilt soccer coach saw no reason to argue the call that awarded TCU a penalty kick in overtime, which Sydney Becerra converted to end the Commodores' season in the Elite Eight of the NCAA women's tournament. It looked obvious enough, and more than that, Ambrose didn't want to resort to excuses.

Despite outshooting the visiting Horned Frogs 31-8, No. 1 seed Vanderbilt (18-4-2) lost 2-1 on Nov. 29, falling one game short of its first-ever appearance in the College Cup. While Ambrose felt the Commodores were in control for the majority of the game, he acknowledged the Horned Frogs (18-2-3) earned their trip to Kansas City.

"My heart breaks," Ambrose said. "I love this team. These kids have been a joy to be around all year. It's hard to sit here and walk away from this not going to the Final Four with the quality we've shown.

"We're here for a reason, and I think we did justice to the seeding that we got. We were pretty dominant. But TCU were resilient defensively, and their keeper made great saves."

The theme of the game was established early when Sydney Watts, the Commodores' leading scorer, shot wide of the net when she was 1-on-1 with TCU goalkeeper Olivia Geller. Geller finished with nine saves, including a pair of diving stops on Watts and Reagan Pentz in the first half.

Ambrose said the Horned Frogs used a high press for the first 15 minutes, which Vanderbilt repeatedly broke before TCU adjusted. Afterwards, the Commodores used more side-to-side passing in the midfield, which created just as many opportunities as before. But it took them almost all of regulation to capitalize when Watts scored with a back-heel finish in the 77th minute.

"The game isn't won necessarily by statistics," Ambrose said. "You can tell a bit of a story. But we weren't maybe as clinical in the moments as we have been."

MORE: How Vanderbilt soccer advanced to first Elite Eight ever with win vs LSU

Watts knew the Horned Frogs would be desperate after going down a goal and give everything they had over the final 13 minutes of regulation, and it paid off when Emma Yolinsky scored in the 86th minute. TCU coach Eric Bell wasn't surprised, either.

"We've been really resilient throughout the course of the season and been able to come back in games and respond when we get scored on," Bell said. "You don't know whether or not we're going to score or not, but I did expect the response."

While Ambrose thought the Commodores might have settled for a few too many long shots and didn't try to keep possession as much as they should have when trying to close out the game, he refused to second-guess his players. After all, they produced the best season in the history of the program.

Vanderbilt reached its first-ever Elite Eight and won its first SEC championship since 2020. It outscored opponents 49-14 and tied a program record for wins, building on a Sweet Sixteen appearance in 2024.

"We're not going to mourn this season," Ambrose said. "This has been a season that has announced that we're for real and that this program is going forwards in a big way. We return a lot of players. There's a lesson in here somewhere for us. I think when the air clears and the emotions clear, there'll be things we will take out of this positively."

While goalkeeper Sara Wojdelko is out of eligibility, the Commodores' three top scorers — Watts, Courtney Jones and Olivia Stafford — are all expected back. As Watts left the field, she implored her teammates to keep their heads up high.

"I've been a part of fantastic teams, and we've gradually grown every single year," Watts said. "It's so exciting to see, because the Elite Eight is not our ceiling. We haven't reached it yet, and I'm so excited to come back in the spring and next season and just do it all over again."

Jacob Shames can be reached by email at [email protected] and on X/Twitter @Jacob_Shames.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Vanderbilt soccer disappointed but optimistic after Elite Eight loss