Nov. 21, 2014
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GAINESVILLE, Fla. - The Auburn soccer team had the early momentum. It even had the early lead and put No. 11/16 Texas Tech on its heels for most of the match, but the Red Raiders responded to Auburn's early advantage and scored two unanswered goals to defeat the Tigers 2-1 Friday afternoon in the NCAA Tournament's Second Round.
"First off, congratulations to Texas Tech," Auburn head coach Karen Hoppa said afterward. "I thought it was a heck of a game from both teams. I thought both teams played really hard. It was an exciting quality soccer game. Obviously, we're disappointed in the result, but we're not disappointed in our effort and our performance. I thought our girls played terrific. We had enough chances to put them away, but didn't and that was the difference."
Redshirt senior Tori Ball scored Auburn's only goal in the match, which was very reminiscent of last week's game-winner against Florida Gulf Coast.
In just the sixth minute of play, freshman Kristen Dodson had possession on the right side of the box and tried a low cross in, but it was knocked out by Texas Tech goalkeeper Lauren Watson. Ball was in the right place at the right time and sent the one-timer in past a backtracking Watson to give the Tigers the early 1-0 lead.
For Ball, it was her fifth goal of the year as she will end her final season as Auburn's leading goal scorer for the 2014 season.
The Auburn family that made the trip to Gainesville was sent into a frenzy after Ball's goal and it looked as if the Orange and Blue would keep the fast-paced offense up. However, Texas Tech responded in a big way, scoring the equalizer in the 31st minute and then the game-winner as regulation winded down in the 87th minute.
Paige Strahan netted her fifth goal of the season for Texas Tech from 23 yards out to tie the game at one, but Auburn was still looking for that elusive second goal as the match went into halftime tied 1-1.
Both teams played evenly through the majority of the second half and even though Texas Tech put on three good shots in the period, Auburn's defense continued to come up with big plays to stave off the Red Raider attack.
In the 80th minute, Texas Tech got an important corner and nearly netted the perfect set piece on the left post as the header had Auburn keeper Alyse Scott fooled. But, freshman Hannah Alspach was positioned perfectly to clear the ball away and keep the match tied in the waning minutes.
The Tigers were actually more aggressive on the offensive end in the second half with four shots, three coming on target, but Tech scored the one shot that mattered from Alli Murphy.
After a foul was called near midfield, Murphy took the free kick from five yards to left of the mid-line. The ball sailed over the box and dropped just under the cross bar, too high for Scott to make the save and fell into the net, giving Tech the 2-1 advantage.
"We just knew what was at stake," Ball said. "Making history to go to the Sweet Sixteen, and we were just trying to get that other goal, and then it was just so unfortunate to get scored on with four minutes left. The team played their heart out, so hopefully next year it will carry on."
Auburn finishes the 2014 season with a 12-7-3 record, five wins coming in conference play. Alyse Scott finished with an identical record between the pipes, making four huge saves in her final match of the season tonight. Scott finishes the season with 76 saves and 10 shutouts. The 10 shutouts is the second-most in a single-season by an Auburn player.
On the offensive end, the Tigers grew immensely over the course of the season, having 12 different goal scorers and four players with four or more goals and nine multi-goal scorers. Last season, Auburn only had three players score more than one goal.
"Our team, from day one to now, has just grown leaps and bounds," Hoppa said. "I told them that in the pregame. Our goal all year was to get better every game and I thought we did that, and from the first game -- a bunch of young players running around next to T-ball (Tori Ball) -- they've just grown tremendously, and it's something hopefully will carry us into next season."
For more information on Auburn soccer, visit AuburnTigers.com, follow the team on Twitter, @AuburnSoccer or follow them on Facebook at Facebook.com/AuburnSoccer.