Sept. 20, 2013
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AUBURN, Ala. - The Auburn women's soccer team dropped a tough match to No. 19 Kentucky, 1-0, Friday night at the Auburn Soccer Complex. With the loss, the Tigers fall to 3-4-1 on the season.
The Tigers put 12 shots on goal in the match, six in the first half with two corner kicks, while redshirt freshman goalkeeper Alyse Scott made a season-high seven saves. However, Kentucky's winning goal came late in the first half off a rebound right to Stuart Pope, who then kicked it just out of the reach of Scott, which proved to be the only goal the Wildcats needed on the night.
"We were just so excited about how we played in the first half," Auburn head coach Karen Hoppa said. "That was the best first half we had this season, so we wanted to build on that and I thought we did. I think this was the best game we played this year. Obviously, we didn't get the result we wanted, but the progress we've made has been phenomenal. Kentucky is one of the top teams in the country and we were toe-to-toe with them. We give up that goal on a rebound, but our team is getting there."
Kentucky's goal came in the 27th minute as Pope capitalized off of Arin Gilliland's shot that was deflected by Scott, but Pope corralled the loose ball and put it in the corner of the net even after the good effort by Scott.
"We made a lot of mistakes up the field a bit," Hoppa said. "I thought our defense could have solved it. They were there to frame it and we weren't. I thought Alyse played a great game. She got seven saves and we can't hold her responsible for that goal. On the other side of it, it's rare you get an SEC shutout. We've just got to score goals and we had enough chances to do that, especially in the first half. "
Auburn's best scoring opportunity came from junior Chelsea Gandy-Cromer whose shot from just inside the box was parried away by King, making one of her six saves on the night. The Tigers had another scoring chance late in the match as the Ramsier twins played a give-and-go but Brooke Ramsier's shot was just wide of the frame.
Auburn will finish off its six-match home-stand on Sunday when they host Southern Miss for its final non-conference matchup of the season at the Auburn Soccer Complex. The match is scheduled to begin at 2 p.m. Fans can listen locally on WEGL 91.1 or follow along on AuburnTigers.com.
For complete coverage of the Auburn soccer team, be sure to check AuburnTigers.com, follow them on Twitter, @AU_Soccer or like the Auburn University soccer page on Facebook.