NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Three goals in five minutes was all it took to determine the outcome of Sunday's women's soccer matchup at Vanderbilt. Amanda Whittle put USF (2-4-0) up early with her team-leading 4th goal of the year in the 15th minute, but Vanderbilt quickly answered with a pair of scores in the 17th and 20th minutes to hand the Dons a 2-1 defeat.
 
"We're obviously disappointed," said head coach Jim Millinder. "We always talk about not conceding goals, which we did a few minutes after we went ahead today. So we're not happy with that, but we were playing in tough conditions on the road and I can't complain about our effort; the girls really played their tails off today."
 
USF went on the attack in the first half but wasn't able to convert all its chances. The Dons outshot Vanderbilt 10-7 in the first frame.
 
"We definitely had our chances today," said Millinder, whose team had eight shots on goal overall. "We'd love to have two or three of those back."
 
One chance that wasn't missed came when Whittle received an assist from Jessica Nakae in the 15th minute, tucking her shot into the left corner to put USF out ahead 1-0.
 
Vanderbilt (4-2-0) wasted no time in scoring the equalizer less than two minutes later when Grace Jackson sent a cross into the box that deflected off the post and into the net.
 
It was Jackson again in the 20th minute who headed in a cross off the foot of Sasha Gray that gave the Commodores a 2-1 lead that they never relinquished.
 
Despite the fact that neither side scored in the second half, Vanderbilt held a decisive 13-5 advantage in shots. The Commodores also kept the pressure on the USF defense by firing off 10 corner kicks to USF's two.
 
USF keeper Makayla Presgrave recorded seven saves on the day, her second highest total of the season.
 
"This is a test of our character as a team and to see how resilient we are," added Millinder, whose team was facing their second SEC opponent in as many games after falling at Missouri on Friday. "For now we go back to the drawing board and focus on working a little harder to improve when we go down to Arizona this week."
 
UP NEXT: The Dons continue their season-long seven game road trip with a pair of matches against Pac-12 opponents in the desert this weekend. USF faces Arizona State at 4:30 p.m. on Friday in Tucson, Ariz. Followed by a 1:30 p.m. matchup at Arizona on Sunday.