Auburn, Ala. (EETV)- Auburn soccer defeated South Carolina, 2-1, in the quarterfinals of the SEC Tournament on Tuesday in Orange Beach, Alabama. The Tigers will now advance to the semi-finals to take on top-seeded Arkansas on Thursday at 5 p.m. CST.
“What a great performance by our team,” head coach Karen Hoppa said. “It was a total team effort. I thought our speed of play was outstanding. We scored two great goals, created a lot of opportunities. In the end, after they got the penalty kick, we stood strong defensively.”
Auburn started this game shaky. It was not until two big saves from sophomore Maddie Prohaska in the tenth minute that Auburn started to get a foothold in the game. The Tigers got the scoring started in this matchup with a goal from senior defender M.E. Craven with four minutes to go until halftime. Craven was able to put the ball in the back of the net off a free-kick from midfield star Anna Haddock.
“It was just a great feeling for all of us,” said senior M.E. Craven. “Our possession was finally starting to come together. I think it was the best possession we’ve played, so it was just exciting.”
The confidence gained at the end of the half continued into the second as the Tigers came out on the front foot. Auburn fired off three shots in 12 minutes before forward Sydney Richards found the back of the net to extend the Auburn lead to two. The Richards goal would be just enough cushion for Auburn because almost ten minutes later, the Tigers conceded a penalty.
“It was huge,” said junior Sydney Richards. “We really needed it. We wouldn’t have won that game without it. It’s good that we had the second one to cushion (the lead).”
After conceding the penalty, the Auburn defense did what it does best. Stop the oppositions attack. In the final 20 minutes, the Auburn defense only allowed one shot attempt to put the match to bed.
Sophomore goalkeeper Maddie Prohaska did it all tonight between the sticks as she recorded five saves in the win. The five saves were one shy of her season high of six that she made on Sept. 23 against Tennessee.
“She was outstanding, one of her best performances so far in her young career,” Hoppa added of Prohaska.
This is the first time since 2012 that Auburn has defeated South Carolina and the win moves them into the semi-finals to take on top-seeded Arkansas on Thursday at 5 p.m. CST. The match is set to air on the SEC Network.
