After an hour-and-a-half lightning delay and 110 minutes of action, nothing could separate the two Tiger teams at the Auburn University Soccer Complex Friday, Aug 23.
Auburn's goalkeepers, redshirt freshman Alyse Scott and junior Alicen Wright, combined for eight saves in their squad's regular season opening 0-0 tie against Clemson.
"Tonight was less about the result and more about what we learned," Auburn coach Karen Hoppa said after the match. "I thought in the first half we were getting pushed around, and we had to learn to fight while playing against a top-notch opponent."
Scott made her first career start Friday, making two saves in a first half that saw the host Tigers struggle to get anything going on offense. Wright kept the clean sheet through the second half and both overtime periods.
"I'm so proud of the way this team came up tonight," Wright said. "We're a young team, but we battled for 110 minutes. We dominated that second half and overtime, and I thought we were going to get (a goal)."
Hoppa said her young squad took the field with some jitters, which led to only one shot in the first half. However, after a much-needed halftime talk, Auburn started trading punches with their ACC foes.
"We felt like in the first half we had those opening night jitters, and we were frantic and panicked," Hoppa said. "Some of it was youth, but some of it was opening night. We talked about calming down in possession and competing harder on 50-50 balls. I thought the girls did a fantastic job improving from the first half to the second half."
Forward Tori Ball led the rejuvenated Auburn attack in the second half and in overtime. The junior from Mobile put two of Auburn's three shots on goal, including a looping header that forced Clemson goalkeeper Kailen Sheridan to make a save.
Auburn native Abby Jones had two of Clemson's shots on goal. The midfielder, who traded the royal blue of Auburn High School for the purple of Clemson, delivered a bending shot into the area late in the second half that almost got by Wright.
But the junior was able to hold onto Jones' slicing ball and the rest of the Clemson chances on goal, and the Auburn goalkeeping duo was able to open the season with a hard-fought shutout.
"We're really pleased with our goalkeepers," Hoppa said. "They've had a great battle throughout the preseason, and these two rose to the top. They both are playing so well, and we have got a lot of confidence in both of them.
"Neither one of them have separated themselves from the other, so we said, 'We're going to play both of them.' A little unorthodox, but they both deserve it."
The Tigers followed up with a 4-1 loss against No. 3 Florida State Sunday, Aug. 25. Their next game will be at Samford Friday, Aug. 30.
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