Nov. 18, 2011
STILLWATER, Okla. - The Auburn women's soccer team fell 1-0 to Maryland in the second round of the 2011 NCAA Tournament on Friday. Maryland scored the lone goal in the 69th minute to eliminate the Tigers.
"I thought it was a really good game," head coach Karen Hoppa said. "I thought both teams were excellent. Congratulations to Maryland for advancing. I thought they were an excellent team and they scored a great goal. That goal was the difference in the game. We didn't finish our opportunities and we certainly had them. They were able to finish. That's the difference at this time of the year."
Both teams dealt with wind gusts of up to 25 miles per hour, but Auburn had to the face the winds in the critical second half.
"You never want the weather to affect the soccer, which it unfortunately did, but we both had to deal with it," senior Julie King said. "I don't think it was the reason they won or we lost. I would've rather played with no wind, but that's the way it goes. You have to deal with what you get."
Auburn's best chance for a first-half goal came with the wind at the team's back in the 15th minute when Katy Frierson laid a perfectly-weighted pass in front of the goal to Ana Cate, but Cate's shot was deflected high and over the goal on a sprawling save by diving Maryland goalkeeper Yewande Balogoun.
The match stood at nil-nil at halftime with both teams unable to find the back of the net on a total of 13 shots.
Maryland broke the scoreless deadlock with a goal in the 69th minute. The Terps converted after a cross came in from 6 yards to the near post by Ashley Grove before being tapped home by Becky Kaplan for the go-ahead goal.
Auburn (15-7-2) continued to push forward into attacking position and with 14 minutes remaining, Tatiana Coleman narrowly missed an equalizer when her chance from the right side of the box crossed the face of the goal untouched and missed the left post by mere inches before rolling across the end line.
The goal for the Terrapins (12-5-4) was the lone blip on an otherwise sparkling afternoon for Auburn goalkeeper Amy Howard. The junior recorded six saves for the match.
The loss ends the season for Auburn's four seniors, a quartet that left an indelible mark on the program.
"It's always hard when you end on a loss to think about all the good we did this year," Hoppa said. "What an overall great season. We were nationally ranked most of the year. We won the SEC tournament championship. That was the first time ever for Auburn and the first time ever for a west team. This team will go down in history. I'm really, really proud of them.
"For our four seniors, it's really heart-breaking. They went to four NCAA tournaments, and they won the SEC tournament this year. I anticipate Katie Frierson and Julie King will have a future in soccer at the next level and we look forward to following them."