Two second-half goals for Samford were the difference in a season-ending 2-0 loss for Auburn in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament. The Bulldogs advance to the second round, while Auburn’s season concludes with a record of 12-7-1.
It was a disappointing end to a season that saw Auburn host an NCAA Tournament game for the first time since 2018.
“We’re certainly disappointed in the loss, it’s not the way we wanted to send out our seniors,” said Auburn head coach Karen Hoppa.
The Tigers were facing a familiar opponent, since they played Samford to begin the season. The original matchup turned out a 2-1 victory for Auburn.
“One thing that was remarkable about Samford...is they have their entire same starting lineup from that first game,” Hoppa said. "That group had played together, 20 plus games, and they’re really a cohesive unit. They’ve got a lot of experience and they fielded more experience than we did and you could see that. What they were trying to do, they did really well, so credit to them and how they’ve grown throughout the season.”
The Tigers had 15 shots to Samford’s six but were unable to score. After a first half in which Auburn controlled the ball the majority of the time, the Bulldogs turned the tables on the Tigers in the second half, preventing Auburn from having any good looks on offense until the last ten minutes, when the Bulldogs were up 2-0.
“Credit to Samford, they had two good looks and got two goals,” said Hoppa. “We had many, many good looks and just could not find the back of the net...When Samford got the goal, I though they got some energy out of that and pressed us even better than they had been. I thought it was more about our mistakes than any changes they made.”
Auburn was without one of its senior leaders, defender M.E. Craven.
“We really were hoping we would have her. M.E. just does so much for us,” said Hoppa. “She’s a target on set pieces, she plays a lot of the set pieces in the defensive half to get us out. She our captain center back, she’s our leader back there. It certainly was a big loss for us. ”
Despite the loss, both Hoppa and sophomore midfielder Hannah Waesch are optimistic about the future.
“We’re a very young team, so we’re continuing to grow out, just building on some of our strengths and working on our weaknesses,” said Waesch. “Growth has been a big theme for this season.”
The Tigers had a historical season continuing an 11-game winning streak to start the season. Auburn ended seeded at No.4 with a final 12-7-1 record.
“We’ve really had a remarkable season," said Hoppa. "That’s what I told the girls and this one’s going to hurt for a while, it’s not the way we wanted to go out, but when you look back, it was an unbelievable year. As young as we were and some major injuries throughout the season, it was remarkable."
Do you like this story? The Plainsman doesn't accept money from tuition or student fees, and we don't charge a subscription fee. But you can donate to support The Plainsman.
Matthew is a senior from Huntsville, Alabama, majoring in journalism. He started with The Plainsman in fall 2021.
Twitter: @mattwallaceAU
