After opening the season strong with a 3-0 win over South Alabama, the Tigers struggled to maintain that momentum for most of Sunday’s game against Lipscomb. Down 2-0 late in the second half, the Tigers dug deep, scoring twice in the final 20 minutes of regulation and holding on in overtime to salvage a 2-2 draw.
The Tigers controlled the possession for much of the first half, but were unable to capitalize on their scoring chances. Lipscomb converted their first extended scoring chance of the night in the 41st minute, when Riley Henry headed in a perfect corner kick to open the scoring for the Bison. Henry added another in the 49th minute to extend the lead.
With her team needing a second-half spark, Auburn senior captain Courtney Schell scored on a shot from well outside the box to cut the Lipscomb lead to 2-1. That score stood until the last 30 seconds, when Tigers freshman Rocio Sanders chipped a shot past Lipscomb goalkeeper Kate Mason to send the game to overtime.
“Our senior captain [Schell] scoring that goal was huge. That gave us the confidence to continue to press and go forward. Kristen [Dodson] did the work setting up that goal for Rocio [Sanders],” Hoppa said. “It’s something we’ve talked to Kristen about because she’s going to be a marked woman, she was tonight, and the ball she played to Rocio, Rocio did a fantastic job finishing it.”
The Tigers controlled play for much of overtime, but were unable to net another goal in the sudden death period. Auburn outshot Lipscomb 25-7 on the night.
“I thought we were a little bit slow and lacked some energy in that first half,” Auburn coach Karen Hoppa said. “But just thrilled with the way our team came out in the second half. They responded the way we could’ve asked them. We couldn’t have asked for anything more in the second half.”
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