Oct. 29, 2015
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STARKVILLE, Miss. - The 19th-ranked Auburn soccer team ended the regular-season with a big statement Thursday night, defeating Mississippi State, 3-0, on the backs of a three-goal first half, two from junior Casie Ramsier.
"We needed a bounce back game like this tonight," Auburn head coach Karen Hoppa said. "I'm really proud of our team and how we responded. I've said it all year, this team has great character and they showed it again tonight. Playing on the road, especially at Mississippi State is tough. To be up 3-0 at half was great. I was proud of the battle we had in the second half. Mississippi State didn't give up. Our team held strong and preserved the shutout. I'm glad to have momentum going into the postseason."
With the win, Auburn finishes the regular season with a 14-4-0 record overall and 7-4-0 record in Southeastern Conference play. Both the 14 overall wins and seven conference wins are second-most in a single season in Auburn history.
Auburn also secures its seeding in the SEC Tournament for the 15th-straight season. The Tigers will be the four-seed going into next week's conference tournament and will face fifth-seeded South Carolina next Wednesday at 7 p.m. at the Orange Beach Sportsplex in Orange Beach, Ala.
For the fifth time this year, Ramsier scored twice in one game, giving her 12 goals for the season. The Texan was able to get her team on top early in the 13th minute with a header off a rebound.
Junior Samantha Solaru fired a shot from just inside the box on the left and a great save from Mississippi State kept the ball in play. However, Ramsier picked up the pieces and headed the ball in through the right side of the net giving the keeper no chance at a second save on the play.
Later in the 37th minute, Ramsier found the net again on a similar play. This time her sister Brooke shot from near the top of the box, but a block from a MSU defender allowed the ball to fall right at the feet of Casie, giving Auburn a 2-0 lead.
The 12 goals this year for Casie Ramsier ties for the second-most in a season by an Auburn player and her 26 points is a new career-best for the junior. In conference play, Ramsier finishes the regular-season with 17 points, good for third-highest total. Also, her eight goals in 11 SEC matches was the second-highest in the league.
"We came out strong in the first half and were definitely going at them hard," Ramsier said. "Both my teammates had great shots on goal and the keeper bobbled it. I was there to finish it up. I was glad I could get them both in the back of the net."
Senior Logan Beal added the important third goal for the Tigers just a minute later on some great passing by sophomore Hannah Alspach and junior Alex Massey. For Beal, it was her second goal of the year and was the fifth time Auburn had three goals or more in one game.
For the defense, Auburn notched its eighth shutout of the year, second of the conference season. Redshirt freshman Sarah Le Beau picked up her 14th win of the year, making three saves in 68 minutes. Redshirt junior Alyse Scott also got her second action in between the pipes, logging 21 minutes and making four saves of her own.
Auburn's back line limited Mississippi State to just 13 shots, seven coming on target. On the flip side, Auburn totaled 16 shots in the first half, but only three in the second half as the defense prevented anything from getting a good look at goal.
"The way we played today is how we want to be playing in the SEC Tournament," Kala Faulkner said. "We want to be building momentum and we know whoever we play in the tournament, we can beat them. We think we're ready."
Senior Kala Faulkner added another record to her growing list of accolades as she made her 86th consecutive start tonight, setting the new Auburn career record. Her 86 games played sits currently sixth all-time and second all-time in the games started category.
Auburn will face South Carolina in the SEC Tournament quarterfinals Wednesday with first kick slated for 7:30 p.m. CT. All games of the tournament will be televised on the SEC Network with the championship game on ESPNU.
For more information on Auburn soccer, visit AuburnTigers.com, follow the team on Twitter, @AuburnSoccer or follow them on Facebook at Facebook.com/AuburnSoccer.