No. 16 Auburn’s second straight game in its trip to ACC territory ended the same way as the first - with the score tied after 90 minutes.
On Sunday, a hard-fought, aggressive contest resulted in a scoreless draw between the Tigers and Wake Forest in Winston-Salem, N.C.
"Lots to learn from these games for sure, but they were two very challenging matches on the road," said Auburn head coach Karen Hoppa.
Despite Auburn (2-0-2) taking half as many shots as the Demon Deacons (3-0-1), having six shots to Wake Forest’s 12, the Tigers were able to hold their own and give Wake Forest its first game not in the win column on its 2022 record.
The Tigers’ defense was tested early in a first half which was overwhelmingly played on Wake Forest’s side of the field. After recording nine saves in Thursday night’s game, Auburn goalkeeper Maddie Prohaska recorded five saves on Sunday - three of which came in the first half.
As Prohaska and the Auburn defense were stifling every attack by Wake Forest, the Tigers were having trouble creating scoring opportunities for themselves. Auburn did not attempt a shot until after Wake Forest had already tallied eight shots.
"Today, I thought we grew into the game, again,” Hoppa said. “But we've got to work on starting stronger and starting more aggressive from an offensive standpoint.”
Of Auburn’s six shots, four were on goal - two by Anna Haddock and one each by M.E. Craven and Sydnie Thibodaux.
Both teams played aggressively for the full 90 minutes. A combined 24 fouls were called, 16 on Wake Forest and eight on Auburn. Four yellow cards were assessed, two to each team. Maddie Simpson and Carly Thatcher each earned a yellow card for the Tigers for “unsporting behavior.”
The four combined yellow cards were the most in an Auburn game since the Tigers and South Carolina combined for five on Oct. 1, 2021.
This season, Auburn has allowed just one goal on a penalty kick and has shut out three opponents during a stretch in which the Tigers’ offense has scored one goal or less in three of four games.
“Credit to our defense, they have looked great to start the year and have really kept us in ballgames," Hoppa said.
Another tough test awaits Auburn in its return home. The No. 21 West Virginia Mountaineers will visit the Auburn Soccer Complex on Sept. 1 in what will be Auburn’s second game against a ranked opponent. The game will start at 6:30 p.m. CT and will be streamed on SEC Network+.
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Matthew is a senior from Huntsville, Alabama, majoring in journalism. He started with The Plainsman in fall 2021.
Twitter: @mattwallaceAU
