AUBURN, Ala. (EETV) – Despite a tough loss on the road, the No.15 Auburn women’s soccer team put up a strong fight defensively against the No. 3 Texas A&M this past Monday at Ellis Field in Bryan-College Station, Texas.
The Tigers (3-3-2) were able to hold the Aggies (7-1-0) scoreless for two-thirds of the game until the 68th minute of the game when they had finally scored their first goal.
“A&M is a great team, one of the best teams in the country, but I thought our team was outstanding in our game plan. Our defense was terrific, Maddie Prohaska's response from Friday was outstanding, and we had chances. We've just got to be better when we get those opportunities," Auburn head coach Karen Hoppa said.
Texas A&M currently stands as the highest scoring women’s soccer team in the SEC.
Serving as a key defensive component, freshman goalkeeper, Maddie Prohaska, matched her second-highest total of saves this season. Prohaska made 8 saves, including a pair of diving attempts on back to back shots from the Aggies in the 58th minute.
Auburn had a few missed opportunities in the opening minutes of the second half of the game. The two attempts were missed as they were outside the reach of junior midfielder Hailey Whitaker’s right-footed flicks.
Texas A&M then managed to counter this run, and despite Prohaska’s best efforts, she was unable to beat A&M’s freshman forward, Barbara Oliveri, on the breakaway. Oliveri was able to score the first goal of the game, getting it to the back of the net. The Aggies were able to use this to their advantage and scored a goal after a corner kick and deflection off the crossbar 15 minutes later.
"The good thing is we'll learn a lot from this game at A&M as we head into Orange Beach," Hoppa said.
This contest had marked the second game on the road against a top 10 team for the Tigers, as well as the fourth game within the span of 11 days to round out their regular season schedule.
The Auburn Tigers will make their 20th straight appearance at the SEC tournament in Orange Beach, Alabama, Sunday at 5 p.m. CT, taking on the Georgia Bulldogs (2-3-2).
