PENSACOLA, Fla. (EETV) – Auburn soccer made the trip down to sunny Pensacola this week for the SEC Tournament, the Tigers hoping for a big run after a solid season and number six seed in the bracket. However, it wasn’t to be as Auburn dropped the match 2-1 and fell victim to an early elimination.
The first half of the match passed mainly without incident, each squad trying their best to create chances. However, the teams of Tigers only managed five total shots in 45 minutes: three for Auburn and two for LSU.
The second was a different story though, as LSU scored two goals in a 14-minute span midway through the half that felt like backbreakers for an Auburn side that had played such solid defense all season.
The first of the LSU goals came in the 57th minute via sophomore midfielder Gabi Ceballos just minutes after the Bayou Bengals had suffered two offside calls. Then, in the 71st minute, graduate forward Mollie Baker took advantage of an Auburn turnover to extend the LSU lead to 2-0.
Auburn scored their one and only goal in the 78th minute, a rocket from deep range by defender Mallory Mooney assisted by Anna Haddock. Haddock’s assist, the 43rd of her career and 12th of the season, made her the new record holder in career assists for the Auburn program. The record was previously set by Katy Frierson in 2011.
Though the Tigers exited the SEC Tournament earlier than many would have expected just two weeks ago, Auburn still has an opportunity to make some noise in the NCAA Tournament, something that head coach Karen Hoppa mentioned after the match.
“We’re going to feel this hurt for a while, but the good thing is that we know we’ve got more soccer to play,” Auburn head coach Karen Hoppa said. “We came out too passive. Credit to LSU, they played great, but we didn’t have our best. We’re going to learn a lot from this game. We’ll rest and recover and be excited to make our play at the NCAA Tournament.”
That passiveness has been a major consistent issue for Auburn over the last five matches. After a red-hot 12-1-2 start to the season that saw the Tigers rocket into the top 10 in the national rankings, Auburn is currently on a 0-3-2 skid including the tournament loss.
If coach Hoppa’s squad wants to make a turnaround in the NCAA Tournament, it’s going to have to be a quick and effective one. Otherwise the Tigers might find themselves hurtling toward a very deflating end to a once-promising season. Auburn will find out who they match up with a week from today on November 11, and Tournament play will begin Friday, November 15.
