No. 8 Auburn soccer’s (9-1-1, 1-1-1) historical start to the season was brought to an abrupt end in College Station, TX on Thursday night, as the Texas A&M Aggies (7-4, 2-1) defeated the Tigers 4-1.
This loss marks Auburn’s first loss of the season, previously tying Vanderbilt and most recently taking down Florida at home to open up conference play. Last night’s matchup was the Tigers’ first game outside of Alabama state lines, and only their third game of the year away from Auburn.
On the other hand, Texas A&M gained its second conference win, bouncing back from a 2-1 loss to Oklahoma at home on Sunday. The Aggies were riding on a bit of a roller coaster coming into the contest, as they hosted only six overall wins with tough losses to Denver, UConn, and Missouri recorded earlier in the season.
One of biggest headlines that emerged from this game was the scary injury of Auburn senior goalkeeper Maddie Prohaska. Prohaska forcibly collided with TAMU’s Sydney Becerra in the 24th minute as they both attempted to retrieve a long, floating pass from Macy Matula that landed inside the penalty box.
The two went up to make a play on the ball – Prohaska to catch the ball and Matula to head it in the goal – and violently bumped heads while they were airborne. Neither knew that the other one was there, but nonetheless, Prohaska was called for the foul and Becerra was awarded a penalty kick. She easily put it into the back of the net and now leads the Aggies in goals (five), assists (three), and points (13).
After jumping out to a 1-0 lead, Texas A&M kept its foot on the gas on both sides of the field. The Aggies had 12 shots in the first half compared to Auburn’s three, while the inability to produce corner kicks contributed to a lack of scoring opportunities for the Tigers. Auburn received zero corners in the first 45 minutes but eventually caught back up to match Texas A&M’s four at the end of the match.
With Taylor Richards replacing Prohaska at goalkeeper for Auburn, Texas A&M capitalized on the inexperience of the redshirt sophomore. Having only played about 21 minutes of soccer in her college career, the Aggies scored three goals on Richards in the second half.
Matula put the ball into the back of the net four minutes into the period, followed buy a goal by midfielder Grace Ivey in the 67th minute.
But Auburn didn’t give up despite being down 3-0, as senior Becky Contreras scored on a header with 7:55 to play. The goal was assisted by Anna Haddock courtesy of a free kick, stemming from a handball called on the Aggies a few seconds prior.
However, it proved to be not enough for the Tigers. Becerra found the net a second time in the 90th minute with the help of a deflection off an Auburn defender, securing the Aggie’s victory over Auburn in convincing fashion.
The Tigers will return home to face Ole Miss (5-7-0, 0-3-0) on Sunday, Sept. 29 in hopes to rebound with a win over the Rebels. The game will kickoff at 2 p.m. CST and can be streamed on SECN+.
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.
Gunner is a freshman majoring in journalism. He started with The Plainsman in the fall 2024.
You can follow him on X (Twitter) at @norene_gunner10
