Simmonds Goal Lifts Lady Vols To 1-0 Win At Vandy

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The Lady Vols took a 1-0 victory at Vanderbilt on Thursday, claiming the program’s fi rst road win against the Commodores since 2013 and ending VU’s season-long home undefeated streak. With the win, Tennessee (8-5-4, 3-4-3 SEC) improved to ninth in conference standings, securing a spot in the SEC Tournament.Sophomore Kameron Simmonds found the net for Tennessee off an assist from sophomore Macaira Midgley. In goal, redshirt-soph-omore Ally Zazzara made a career-high seven saves.The fi rst half was a scoreless affair with Vanderbilt (8-5-5, 3-5-2 SEC) taking seven shots, two of which were on frame. Zazzara came up with a pair of saves in the fi nal 10 minutes to keep the game tied at zero through the half. The Lady Vols took a pair of fi rst-half corner kicks but were unable to get off a shot. About 10 minutes into the second half, Zazzara came up with two massive saves less than a minute apart. The fi rst was a punch save to knock a 20-yard blast from Amber Nguyen over the crossbar. The second was a quick shot from close range by Rachel Dere-sky that Zazzara blocked and the Lady Vol defense cleared.The Lady Vols went up 1-0 in the 60th minute when Midgley weaved through the Commodore midfi eld and found Simmonds breaking into the box. Simmonds took one touch before sending the ball near post.Simmonds nearly added a second in the 81st minute, getting behind the Vandy defense and going one-on-one with Kate Devine who made the save.Nguyen had the chance to level the score with just over six minutes left in the game, running on to a rebound from a corner kick and taking a crack from 20 yards out but sailing it high over the goal.UP NEXT: The Lady Vols will head to the SEC Tournament in Pensacola, Fla. UT will enter as the No. 9 seed and face eighth-seeded Auburn at 4:30 p.m. ET on Sunday.CAREER NIGHT: Ally Zazzara logged a career-high seven saves to earn the shutout at Vandy. Her previous best was six saves against No. 23 SMU on Aug. 21, 2022.