The Auburn women's soccer team lost a physical match to No. 25 Tennessee on Sunday Oct. 7, 1-0.
The loss snapped the Tigers' three-game win streak coming off a 2-0 win over Mississippi State Friday, Oct. 5.
Tennessee (10-3-2, 5-2-1 SEC) senior midfielder Kylie Bono scored a free kick from 22 yards out in the 61st minute, giving the Lady Vols the victory and only goal of the match.
Bono blasted the ball into the bottom right corner, just out of Auburn senior goalkeeper Amy Howard's reach.
Auburn (8-7-0, 4-4-0 SEC) created several chances throughout the match, but couldn't find the finish in the final third.
Auburn's best chance came in the 56th minute, when junior midfielder Maddie Barnes' shot from the top of the 18 nailed the crossbar. The referee waved off a penalty call just before Barnes' shot, when junior forward Kim Spence was brought down in the box.
The match was physical throughout the afternoon, and Tennessee suffered a critical injury, although it was not player-induced.
The Vols' junior midfielder CC Cobb, who has five goals on the season so far, was carted off in the 19th minute after attempting to head away an Auburn goal kick at midfield.
The teams combined for 14 fouls in the second half, but the referee only awarded one yellow card in the match and often allowed play to continue.
Auburn senior goalkeeper Amy Howard's five saves against the Lady Vols pushes her career total to 326 saves. Howard is now tied for ninth all-time in the SEC record books in career saves.
"Overall we played a good game, and I thought we had better chances, but Tennessee is a terrific team and they scored off of a great free kick, putting it right in the far post in the perfect spot," said coach Karen Hoppa. "They made one more play than we did. We had plenty of opportunities and we felt like we let this one get away."
Auburn's previous meeting with Tennessee was in the 2011 SEC Tournament semifinal game where the Tigers won 2-0. Auburn shut out Mississippi State on Friday, Oct. 5 for Howard's fourth clean sheet of the season and the 19th of her career, winning 2-0.
Senior midfielder Ana Cate grabbed Auburn the victory before freshman forward Alexa Allen sealed it eight minutes later.
In the 63rd minute, Cate scored a header following a save by Mississippi State's senior goalkeeper Skylar Rosson to give Auburn the 1-0 lead.
The goal was Cate's first this season and the 15th of her career. In the 71st minute, Allen sealed the Tigers' victory when she put away a deflected Barnes' shot past Rosson -- Allen's third this season.
The Tigers' offense was dominant Friday night, recording 20 shots and 13 corners against the Mississippi State Bulldogs (7-6-1, 0-6-1 SEC).
Auburn will now go on the road to take on Georgia on Friday, Oct. 12.
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