The Music City Invitational was more of the same for IU women's soccer.
The IU defense was strong Friday night against Vanderbilt as it limited the Commodores to six shots on goal over the 90 minutes. The Hoosiers won the match 1-0 thanks to the third goal in two games from sophomore midfielder Chandra Davidson.
“Vandy is a very good team, organized all over the field,” IU Coach Amy Berbary said. “I think we survived the first half, getting to halftime zero to zero, we worked out a few things tactically and were able to finish one of the few chances that we got.”
IU changed its defensive look for the Vanderbilt game, moving sophomore defender Meghan Scott to center back and also dropping junior defender Caroline Dreher into the defense.
“I thought they held their composure, we gave up a ton of corner kicks in the first half and they were disciplined and communicated well, I couldn’t have been happier with them,” Berbary said.
But Sunday afternoon went differently for the Hoosiers. IU could barely get any shots off against No. 24 Memphis, falling 2-0 behind a pair of first-half goals for the Tigers.
“I think we came out a little flat,” Berbary said. “We survived Friday, got to halftime zero to zero, but Memphis punished us. They got two on us, our backs were against the wall, and we needed to find a way. I thought we had a fantastic second half, but again, we’ve got to be able to make plays.”
Sophomore forward Jessica Lisi scored first in the 10th minute on a deflected shot that found the back of the net. Junior forward Elizabeth Woerner then added to the lead after a cross into the box from junior midfielder Catherine Levasseur.
“I don’t think we were as ready as we should’ve been in the first half,” freshman goalkeeper Bethany Kopel said. “We were a little bit slow, and not that Memphis wasn’t a really good team or anything, it’s just we needed to wake up a little bit before, but in the second half when we did wake up, we were able to clearly keep them scoreless.”
IU was unable to get on the scoreboard against Memphis after only attempting four shots on goal.
“Just communication, just making sure everyone is on the same page, just making sure the ball stays in front of us, keeping the ball as much as possible," Kopel said. “A lot of the times during the first half of the Memphis game, we just weren’t all in it together.”
Despite the loss to Memphis, IU is 2-1 on the road so far during the young season.
In its three games away from Bill Armstrong Stadium, IU has shutout both Western Michigan and Vanderbilt, before giving up two goals against Memphis.
Both of the goals for the Tigers came in the first half, meaning IU has held its opponents scoreless for five out of six periods on the road.
“It was all about just making sure everyone’s on the same page," Kopel said. "To make sure we just kept the ball in front of us and made it as easy as possible for me to stop whatever shots came at me."
Despite the strong effort this weekend, the Hoosiers were unable to capture a victory against a ranked opponent for the second time this season.
IU lost to then-No. 13 Clemson as part of the season-opening Hoosier Challenge Cup in Bloomington.
“I’m disappointed," Berbary said. "I could swallow it a little bit if we had played our best 90 minutes today. There are times when you play teams, you clearly are the underdog, and you didn’t have a chance. Today, we had a chance, we just didn’t do what we needed to do and put the ball in the back of the net."
Up next for IU will be Southern Methodist University on Friday night in Dallas, Texas, before going on to face North Texas next Sunday afternoon.
