Vanderbilt wins 2025 SEC Tournament Championship over LSU

PENSACOLA, FL — Vanderbilt soccer is back atop the SEC.

Senior Vivian Akyirem scored the equalizing goal, graduate Sara Wojdelko delivered a highlight performance, and No. 8 ranked Vanderbilt downed No. 25 LSU 8-7 in a three-hour long penalty kick thriller to win the SEC Tournament championship on Sunday at the Brosnaham Soccer Complex.

“This match tells you everything you need to know about our team,” said head coach Darren Ambrose. “We were challenged by an LSU team that was incredibly organized and came to play. They challenged our character and a little bit of our belief in ourselves. I think of words like ‘grit’ that we use all the time, especially down a goal: we defined that today.”

It is the fourth SEC Tournament title in program history, and the second in six seasons for Vanderbilt under Ambrose after winning in 2020.

Vanderbilt (15-3-2) fell behind early after LSU (13-5-4) scored in the 25th minute off the foot of Gabbi Ceballos. It was just the third time all season the Dores conceded the opening goal to an opposing team.

The Tigers remained in the lead at the halftime break, taking a 6-3 shot advantage into the locker room. Vanderbilt generated multiple opportunities to begin the second half, coming within inches of evening the score in the 52nd minute after a shot from senior Maci Teater was saved at the goal line.

With the clock continuing to dwindle, Vanderbilt broke through in the 69th minute. A free kick from junior Courtney Jones was sent directly at LSU keeper Audur Scheving, deflected back to the box, and rebounded into the net by Akyirem. It was just the third goal of the season for the senior midfielder.

Both teams went back and forth in a second half that produced four total yellow cards combined. And despite multiple threatening shots from either side, the score remained at 1-1 as time expired, sending the match to extra time. After overtime and double overtime were not enough to separate the two, the match came down to penalty kicks.

Vanderbilt entered the contest having taken one penalty kick all season. And after scoring on two of the first four kicks, the Dores sat on the brink of defeat with their hopes resting on Wojdelko. As she has done throughout her entire career, the 2025 SEC Goalkeeper of the Year delivered for her team, making a diving save on a shot from Gadea Blanco González to the right side of the goal.

Junior Sydney Watts followed by converting on Vandy’s final penalty kick to keep the team alive. Morgan Witz stepped to the ball with a chance to win the match, sending a strong strike to the left side. Wojdelko fully extended on yet another dive, redirecting the ball off the post before jumping on top of the ball at the goal line to complete the save.

After each side drilled four penalty kicks each, sophomore Mary Beth McLaughlin added to the score to give Vanderbilt an 8-7 advantage. And with another make-or-break kick on the line, Wojdelko sealed it for the Dores, stopping a shot from Jazmin Ferguson to clinch the match win.

“If you watched the Florida State match from last year, [Wojdelko] did the same thing,” Ambrose said. “We said before we went out for penalties ‘We’ve got Wojo, they don’t.’ And that was all we needed.”

“Tactically, this was not the game we wanted,” Ambrose continued. “But this was not about tactics anymore; this was about our desire to win. We were on a mission here, and we were not leaving without a trophy.”

It is the first time since 2018 that an SEC Championship match has gone to penalty kicks and the sixth overall for the Dores in their SEC Tournament history. The victory is the eighth straight for Vanderbilt, ending LSU’s 10-match streak.

Four Dores were selected to the SEC all-tournament team: Watts, Wojdelko, Jones and freshman Olivia Stafford. Jones also finished as the tournament’s MVP, joining Myra Konte from 2020 as the only players in program history to receive the honor.

Vanderbilt now turns its focus to the NCAA Tournament selection show. Coverage is set to begin at 3 p.m. and can be watched on NCAA.com.