Newly-unranked Auburn hosted No. 13 Ole Miss, having gone 0-2 and were looking for their first conference win, but fell just short due to a lucky goal by Ole Miss.
The Sunday afternoon contest was Auburn's first SEC contest against the No. 13 Rebels and the Tigers were unable to get the job done, losing 1-0.
Twelve minutes into the second half, Ole Miss crossed the ball into the box, and a Rebel forward, Aubrey Mister, collided with Auburn defender, M.E. Craven, causing confusion; the Tigers saw Craven was hurt from the hard collision and stopped playing, despite no whistle being blown. Ole Miss capitalized on Auburn’s miscommunication and shot past goalie Maddie Prohaska, who was caught up with the injury.
Despite the unfortunate confusion of the goal, the Tigers did not let up. They had seven shots in the second half and maintained frequent possession.
In the first half, Auburn outshot Ole Miss 5-3, and maintained possession for most of the 45 minutes. However, despite the Tiger’s offensive efforts, the score remained 0-0 at the half.
Auburn came out strong, trying to end their two-game scoring drought, with a long pass attacking the Rebels’ defense once the whistle was blown. They kept up the intensity and played at a top-25 level.
The Tiger offense played a more aggressive game than usual; they continued to attack and have fast breaks, having a total of twelve shots and five on goal.
“I thought we played really well and had great chances,” said head coach Karen Hoppa. “We played well; we’re just not getting the results.
The offense stepped up, having numerous break aways and collapsing into the box as needed, but they came up short and could not place the ball into the back of the net.
Sophomore midfielder Carly Thatcher kept the intensity up in the second half, outrunning numerous Ole Miss defenders and having three shots total. Along with Thatcher, forward Maddie Simpson stepped up for the offense, finding the ball with her head as she is known to do.
“She’s obviously a big presence in the air with her heading ability and she’s covering a lot of ground,” Hoppa said.
Defensively, Prohaska once again kept Auburn in the game; she saved three out of the four shots on goal and placed her goal kicks well. Cumulatively, Prohaska has had five shutout games this season and has had only given up one goal in each of the remaining games.
Since SEC play has started on Sept. 11, Auburn is now 0-3 in division play and on a three-game scoring drought, leaving them at last in the SEC West.
The Tigers gained their first loss at home with Ole Miss; originally, they were 4-0-1. This was their first loss at home after a three-game road stretch, but the familiar environment ultimately couldn't help the result.
Auburn’s next game will be Friday, Sept. 30 against Vanderbilt (8-1-1) at home, where the Tigers’ could potentially get their first SEC win. It will be available for streaming on SEC Network+ at 6:30 CT.
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Amanda Davidson is a sophomore at Auburn, majoring in journalism and minoring in marketing and studio arts. From LaGrange, Ga., she started with The Plainsman in fall 2022.
Twitter: @Manny1Davidson
