Sept. 15, 2013
| |||||||||||||||||||
AUBURN, Ala. - The Auburn women's soccer team was defeated by Long Beach State, 2-1, in overtime on Sunday afternoon at the Auburn Soccer Complex. With the loss, the Tigers fall to 3-3-1 on the season.
After a scoreless first half, the Tigers got the first goal of the game from freshman Casie Ramsier, her third of the season, and held the one-goal lead well into the second half.
Unfortunately, Long Beach State scored the equalizer on a one-timer in the center of the box in the 55th minute, which ended up forcing overtime. Barely one minute into the extra period, the 49ers got the winner from Ashley Webb after an Auburn defensive error.
"We played well in the second half," Auburn head coach Karen Hoppasaid. "We outplayed them in the second half with plenty of chances, so we felt great going into overtime. Unfortunately, we made one defensive error and it cost us the game. Long Beach is a quality team. You give them a chance like that, they're going to finish it."
Auburn's first scoring chance came in the 41st minute as Haley Robersonattempted to curl one past Long Beach State's Kaci McCain on a fastbreak, but was kicked away.
The Tigers had another opportunity just before halftime after earning a free kick 25 yards out. With just five seconds left, senior Bianca Sierra'sattempt went below the wall, but was just left of the frame.
Four minutes into the second half, Auburn scored its first goal of the game from Ramsier. Junior Chelsea Gandy-Cromer crossed the ball into the penalty box, which was initially deflected by junior Tori Ball. Ramsier collected the deflection and placed it in the back of the net, extending her three-game scoring streak.
Not long after, Long Beach State responded with a goal from Eileen Maes as the clock neared the 56-minute mark. After receiving a lead pass from Mimi Rangel, Maes was able to bend one past Auburn goalkeeper Alyse Scottfor her third goal of the season. The goal was the final one of the half, forcing Auburn into overtime for the second time this season.
Long Beach State ended the match in the first minute of overtime when Ashley Webb scored off a deflection on the left side of the goal box.
Auburn tallied 12 shots in the match, with nine coming in the second half. The Tigers also recorded five corner kicks to Long Beach State's zero.
"We've come a long way," Hoppa said. "Dealing with the injuries from Alex Massey and Ashley Kotero, it took some time to figure out how to replace those kids with subs and rotations, so I think we've come a long way from opening weekend. I feel good about the way we're playing.
Auburn will complete its six-match homestand next weekend. The Tigers will open Southeastern Conference play with a 7 p.m., Friday match against Kentucky before hosting Southern Miss at 2 p.m., Sunday. Both matches will be at the Auburn Soccer Complex and admission is free.