Lackluster women’s soccer falls to Vanderbilt

Before the start of overtime on Sunday against Vanderbilt, SMU Lady Mustangs’ soccer coach George Van Linder tried to rally his team.

“They knew (the overtime) was a chance to erase our sluggish first half. It was a chance to redeem ourselves,” Van Linder said.

Less than a minute into the extra period, Vanderbilt senior Lizzy Johnson sent a low, hard shot into the net to give the Commodores a 2-1 victory over SMU.

The way in which Johnson scored was typical of how the game had been played. Vanderbilt forward Jen Talavera sent a short, uncontested pass to the top of the penalty area where Johnson, unmarked, had plenty of time to pick a corner to shoot at.

“We were a little slow to the ball all day,” senior midfielder Misty Noland said. “We didn’t step to the ball on that play, and that allowed (Johnson) to get that shot off.”

Playing two days after an emotional victory over Baylor, the Lady Mustangs did not appear to have recovered completely from that intense game. Also contributing to the team’s sluggishness was an injury to starting forward Lauren Mussallem that left her sidelined for the match.

The coach, however, said that neither the game on Friday nor the injury to Mussallem was an excuse for the team’s general lethargy.

“(Vanderbilt) just had more heart than we did today,” Van Linder said. “They were just hungrier than we were.”

One of the bright spots for the Lady Mustangs was junior Kim Harvey. She scored SMU’s only goal in the 70th minute, bringing her total to four goals in two games. Harvey headed a Diana Kelm free kick into the open net, tying the score at 1-1.

“It wasn’t really a set play,” defender Jodi Lief said. “But we always look for Kim in the box on dead ball plays.”

The Commodores’ first goal was scored by junior forward Erin Higgins. The Georgia native stole the ball from the SMU defense and struck a hard shot that deflected past SMU goaltender Erin McLeod.

Vanderbilt outshot SMU 13-12 for the game, with a 5-4 advantage in shots on goal.

Still, the SMU players felt this was a game they could have won.

“We didn’t play as a team,” Lief, a redshirt freshman, said.

Misty Noland felt the same way.

“We are a better team (than Vanderbilt), but we still have kinks that need to be worked out,” she said.

Coach Van Linder agrees that there are problems that need to be addressed. He knows that there is an increased sense of urgency with WAC conference games fast approaching.

“It’s a little frustrating,” he said. “This is the seventh game of the season. We should have had all the kinks worked out by now.”

The Lady Mustangs continue their season with a game next Friday at Loyola Marymount. They return to Westcott field Oct. 4 to face Boise State at 5:30 p.m.