The Tigers entered the weekend leading the SEC in shots and corner kicks, but it seemed to leave its offensive power in Auburn, collecting its second straight loss of the season to UC Irvine 1-0 on Sunday afternoon at Anteater Stadium.
Both teams struggled offensively throughout 90 minutes of play, ending the day with a combined 10 shots. Senior goalkeeper Amy Howard had just one save on the match while UC Irvine's Jennifer Randazzo came away untested.
"Irvine (1-3-0) did a great job of crowding the middle of the field," coach Karen Hoppa said. "Both vertically and horizontally it was very crowded with a lot of numbers and we didn't do a good enough job of breaking it down or going around the outside."
The game's first true scoring opportunity came in the 65th minute as the 'Eaters midfielder Mady Solow stepped up to take a corner kick.
Solow found the back of the net, sailing the ball inside the far post, but the goal was called off for a UC Irvine foul on Howard.
Nearly 14 minutes later, Solow made up for her team's earlier mishap.
After a pass from Natalia Ledezma found the midfielder at the top of the box, Solow powered a strike past the outstretched arms of Howard.
Senior forward Mary Coffed provided Auburn with its best scoring chance in the 56th minute with a header that floated just high of the crossbar. Sophomore forward Tori Ball kick-started the play with a blocked free kick that was then recovered by sophomore forward Tatiana Coleman who sent the cross to Coffed.
"UC Irvine was a little hungrier than we were," coach Karen Hoppa said. "I thought we had more of the play but we just weren't effective when we had the ball, especially in the final third."
The loss pushes Auburn to 2-2-0 on the season, with both its losses coming on the road.
The Tigers will return home Friday, facing Samford at 7 p.m. at the Auburn Soccer Complex.
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