The Tigers fell 2-0 in a home loss against Southern Miss Friday night.
Auburn players found scoring chances throughout the first half, with sophomore defender M.E. Craven getting a header off an Auburn corner kick that was saved by a Southern Mississippi defender and senior forward Jessie Gerow taking a shot from behind the defense that missed wide.
With 2:25 left in the first half, Southern Mississippi forward Hailey Pohevitz scored off an assist from Caitlin Pierce to take a 1-0 lead.
In the second half, Auburn senior midfielder Bri Folds got another shot but was stopped by a Southern Miss defender. After an almost entirely scoreless second half, Ariel Diaz scored with twenty seconds left to make the game 2-0 in favor of the Golden Eagles.
The loss comes as the third of the season and the second at home for Auburn. When discussing how the team would handle it, Gerow emphasized they need to put it behind them.
“We just have to look back at the film, learn from it, and move on,” Gerow said. “[We] can’t stay on this and focus on this game, we’ve gotta focus on the next game and learn from our mistakes here.”
As for what these mistakes were, forward Sydney Richards offered insight into the team’s scoreless night.
“Honestly, I feel like we got outworked,” Richards said. “I feel like at times we became a little selfish because we were trying so hard to score when we really needed to just work as a team and make the simple passes.”
With another game this Sunday, the players remained confident in the unique strengths of their team.
“I think our biggest strength is that we all want to play for each other," Richards said. "No matter what we’re gonna do the best that we can to make sure that we’re playing for each and every person on the team.”
Gerow echoed the sentiment.
“We’re a family," Gerow said. "Every person here loves each other like their own sibling, it’s awesome and I think that’s what makes us different from every other college.”
Gerow said she credits the team’s closeness to their head coach, Karen Hoppa.
“Our coach likes to say that she recruits based on character, and that’s very true. Every person on this team would do anything for anybody,” she said. “We’re all built on such good character, great women; we all love each other so much.”
Auburn (3-3) will face Samford (3-2-2) at home Sunday at 6:00 PM.
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