Sept. 12, 2014
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AUBURN, Ala. - A late penalty call in the box against No. 18 Auburn gave Samford an opportunity to take a penalty kick in the 78th minute of Friday night's match at the AU Soccer Complex. Taylor Borman hit the ride side netting to score the game-winner for the Bulldogs, a 2-1 victory.
The win drops Auburn's record to 5-2-0 on the young season and breaks a five-match winning streak the Tigers had going into Friday. As for Samford, it ups its record to 4-3-0 for the year and tonight's win is its second-straight in the all-time series.
"We have to give Samford a lot of credit," Auburn head coach Karen Hoppa said. "They capitalized on the one good chance that they had and they played a good game defensively. I just thought our team was too tight."
The Bulldogs took the early 1-0 lead in the 18th minute as Malcanisha Kelley netted her third goal of the season off a long pass from Abriella Argueta. Argueta pulled in the interception at midfield and was able to send a pass over the Auburn defense. Kelley only had one defender to beat and then made a move to get past Scott for the score.
However, the Tigers did equalize just three minutes later as sophomore Casie Ramsier scored her second goal of the 2014 campaign after receiving a nice cross from Samantha Solaru.
Earlier in the play, freshman Kristen Dodson was nearly on the end line of the far side and sent a pass back up to the top of the box. Solaru reset and sent it in right to Ramsier, who was able to finish as Samford's keeper, Anna Maddox fell down.
Unfortunately, Samford was able to get Borman's game-winner off the penalty kick, but still left a lot of time on the clock.
Auburn saw multiple chances in the final minutes, but could not get a shot to find the target. The Tigers did win the shot battle on the night, 15-6, but the fouls hurt them in the end as Auburn ended up with 14.
"We have to give Samford a lot of credit," Hoppa said. "They capitalized on the one good chance that they had and they played a good game defensively. I just thought our team was too tight."
"I felt great about how we played. "We just have to finish our opportunities. Unfortunately that is soccer sometimes. Fortunately for us it is early in the season so we can recover."
Auburn will be back on the field on Sunday when the team takes on Milwaukee at the AU Soccer Complex at noon. The match will be Auburn's final non-conference match of the 2014 season and the team will be looking to get some momentum as it heads into Southeastern Conference play.
For more information on Auburn soccer, visit AuburnTigers.com, follow the team on Twitter, @AuburnSoccer or follow them on Facebook at Facebook.com/AuburnSoccer.