NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — Vanderbilt women’s soccer earned its first-ever National seed in the NCAA Tournament this spring after capturing the SEC Tournament title last fall. But the No. 16 Commodores were upset 2-0 by Penn State in the second round Saturday in Cary, North Carolina.
Noticeably absent from the Vanderbilt lineup was goalkeeper Sarah Fuller, who gained national attention when she joined the football team last fall and became the first woman to kick in a power five conference game. Fuller kicked off to start the second half at Missouri on Dec. 5th. She then added to her accomplishments by making a pair of extra points in the Commodores' loss to rival Tennessee two weeks later.
Freshman Kate Devine got the starting nod from coach Darren Ambrose in the tournament game, while Fuller was dressed and served as the backup.
Vanderbilt sports information says the starting call was strictly a coach’s decision. Ambrose told Adam Sparks of the Tennessean last week: “The decision will be made based on what our goalkeepers have done for the last month or two.”
Devine made her college debut in Vandy’s regular-season finale, splitting time with Fuller in a scoreless tie at Duke on April 11th. The game before that Fuller started and played the entire way in a 3-2 loss at Memphis. She did not allow a goal in 75 minutes of action in the Commodores' other regular season contest this spring.
Fuller played every minute of Vanderbilt’s breakthrough SEC Tournament championship run last November, allowing just four goals as the Commodores emerged as the No. 7 seed to beat Mississippi State, Tennessee, Texas A&M and Arkansas in the span of eight days.
Vanderbilt finishes the season 9-6-1.
