Sept. 21, 2014
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AUBURN, Ala. - In a defensive battle that lasted into the final minutes of regulation, three goals were scored in a matter of 15 minutes of playing time, but it was No. 14 South Carolina that came out on top of Auburn Sunday afternoon in the Southeastern Conference opener at the AU Soccer Complex, 2-1 in overtime.
Stevi Parker hit the game-winner for South Carolina in the 99th minute after a corner from Chelsea Drennen pinballed around before settling in front of Parker. The Gamecock lined it up and hit the back of the net on the right side out of reach of the outstretched Auburn keeper, Alyse Scott.
Auburn falls to 6-3-0 overall on the season and 0-1-0 in SEC play, while the Gamecocks move to 8-1-0 overall and 1-0-0 in conference play.
"It was a fantastic game," Auburn head coach Karen Hoppa said. "On both sides of the ball, it was a well-played game. I think South Carolina is a great team, but I thought we played toe-to-toe with them. I was really proud of my girls to tie that game up with less than five minutes to play. Unfortunately, we didn't keep the ball well and gave up too many corners. South Carolina hit a bomb, but I'm excited to see what this team can do in conference."
85 minutes had gone by in the match with neither team able to find the back of the net before South Carolina's Sophie Groff scored her fourth goal of the season off a penalty kick, giving the Gamecocks what many thought was the game-winning goal.
However, Auburn, never a team to back down, kept fighting and found its own equalizer just three minutes later as sophomore Brooke Ramsier received one from 10 yards out and finished to tie the game at one and send it to overtime.
On the play, freshman Kristen Dodson fought for control in the far corner of Auburn's attacking zone and sent a short pass to Alex Massey. Massey saw Ramsier at the top of the box and threw the ball back to her, who then fired one before the keeper could get set to tie the game.
For Dodson, she continues her streak of consecutive matches with at least one point, now at five-straight dating back to Sept. 5 against Memphis in Oxford, Miss. For Massey, she gets her first assist of the season and first as an Auburn Tiger.
As the match went into overtime, Auburn struggled to get a shot off as the Gamecocks kept the ball in their attacking zone. Three shots were taken by South Carolina before the game-winner by Parker.
In goal for Auburn, Scott takes the loss to fall to 6-3-0 on the season, but still had a great match, making two saves, one in overtime. Opposite her, Sabrina D'Angelo takes the win, making three saves on the afternoon and upping her record to 8-1-0.
"We've got a lot of heart and a lot of character," Hoppa said. "We've learned from last year and we're a much improved team. We're playing with last year's chip on our shoulder and we've got something to prove every time we step on the field. Those girls showed a lot of heart being able to tie that game up against what I think is the best defense and goalkeeper in the league. It excites me to see what we can do going forward."
Auburn will hit the road next weekend for its first away conference matches of the season, traveling to Vanderbilt and Kentucky. Friday's match against the Commodores is set for a 6 p.m. start, while Sunday's match with the Wildcats will be at 5 p.m. Both games can be seen on the SEC Network's digital platform, SEC Network+ on the WatchESPN app or WatchESPN.com.
For more information on Auburn soccer, visit AuburnTigers.com, follow the team on Twitter, @AuburnSoccer or follow them on Facebook at Facebook.com/AuburnSoccer.