MORGANTOWN, W.Va. - After a lightning delay, on and off rain showers and coming from behind, the Auburn Tigers tie the West Virginia Mountaineers 1-1 for an SEC, BIG 12 matchup.
At the start of the second half, it begins to rain, and West Virginia capitalized on the wet field and ball, stringing together passes down the field and scoring a goal to go up 1-0; Auburn goalie Maddie Prohaska blocks the first shot, but could not grip the slippery ball, resulting into a second chance Mountaineer goal.
West Virginia’s goal does not go unpunished; Carley Thatcher scores only seventeen minutes her first goal of the season in the 65th minute, tying the game 1-1.
"It was really exciting to break through and put us right back in it," Thatcher said. "I think we've learned a lot in this match that we are going to use as positive momentum moving forward."
Sammie Brown returned home for this away game to face her mom, West Virginia head coach, Nikki Izzo-Brown.
Brown played a major role in Auburn's goal against her mom's team. Though she did not gain the assist, Brown saved the ball from a Mountaineer defender in the attacking third and fed it back into the box where Sydney Richardson was able to assist Thatcher on the goal.
After scoring twice last Sunday against American, Olivia Woodson comes off the bench in the 27th minute with a hot foot, having two shots on goal in the first half, attacking the Mountaineers' defense. Woodson was the only player off the bench to have a shot on goal.
Auburn also had six corners, created by the attacking offense, but none resulted into points.
"I thought it was a great performance by our team," Tigers head coach Karen Hoppa said. "We played really well. We created a ton of opportunities. We were unlucky to not get a second one, but overall, I'm really pleased with how we played against the reigning BIG 12 Tournament champions."
The Tigers’ defense was tested early, with West Virginia having an early corner kick in the second minute, punched out by Prohaska, and then a second in the 24th minute, cleared out by the Auburn defense.
Prohaska totaled four saves and defended against three corners, making it her second-highest amount of saves this season.
The Tigers totaled 11 shots, reaching double-digits for the seventh consecutive game, and five shots on goal; Anna Haddock made up three of the shots, one coming late in the 77th minute, attempting to break the tie.
Auburn travels next to Columbus, OH, to face the (3-2-1) Ohio State Buckeyes on Sunday, Sept. 10, at 11 AM CT and is available to stream on B1G+.
