Oct. 8, 2015
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COLUMBIA, S.C. - The 8th-ranked Auburn Soccer team fell behind early to No. 10 South Carolina Thursday night and could not recover in the second half, falling 2-0 to the Gamecocks.
Even with a stronger second period that saw multiple Auburn opportunities at the net, South Carolina's defense played tall, limiting Auburn to just three shots on goal, nine shots total in the match.
"We were really disappointed with the way we played in the first half," Auburn head coach Karen Hoppa said. "We didn't come out with the fight and playing the soccer we know how to play. We gave up two counter-attacks on our own mistakes and when you do that at South Carolina, it's tough to come back from."
The loss snaps a five-match winning streak the Tigers had coming into its Top-10 matchup, dropping their overall record to 11-2-0 and 4-2-0 in Southeastern Conference play. Auburn still in the midst of one of its best seasons in school history will return home Sunday to face another ranked opponent in No. 17 Texas A&M.
South Carolina struck first within the first 10 mins of the match, getting behind the Auburn defense on a counter-attack. Caroline Gray tipped one right over the Tigers' defense's heads and found Savannah McCaskill in the gap on the left side of the box. Barely eight yards away, McCaskill tapped it past a diving Sarah Le Beau for the goal.
The Gamecocks doubled their lead in the 18th minute on a similar play from the counter-attack. This time McCaskill found Raina Johnson on the left, who made a great move to beat Le Beau into the right part of the net, giving South Carolina the 2-0 lead.
Auburn looked to find new life in the second half, controlling more possession in the midfield and getting more set pieces with goal opportunities. Auburn won the corners game 7-4, but were just unable to capitalize.
The Tigers nearly cut the lead in half at the 70th minute as great ball movement from the back line starting with Kala Faulkner on a free kick to Hannah Alspach on the right.
With both teams grouped around the 18-yard box, Faulkner fooled the defense and fed to Alspach on the right. That gave Alspach plenty of time to gather and send a great ball in to the middle. The kick was sent to the far post nearly identical to the game-winner last week at Alabama, except this time freshman Charlotte Van Ishoven was on the end of it with the header.
The ball beat the keeper to her left and found the net, seemingly making it a 2-1 game. However, the linesman raised the flag right away and called Auburn offsides, wiping the goal from the scorebook.
"I was proud of us in the second half," Hoppa said. "I thought we battled. Had we played the whole game like that, we might have had a different result. For Sunday, I think we can take with us how hard we pressed them in the second half. We got that one that was called back for offsides. We just have to put together a full 90 minute performance on Sunday."
Auburn will be back at the Auburn Soccer Complex Sunday for a 2 p.m. matchup with No. 17 Texas A&M on SEC Network+. Auburn will be looking to stay undefeated at home as it is currently 7-0-0 on the home pitch.
For more information on Auburn soccer, visit AuburnTigers.com, follow the team on Twitter, @AuburnSoccer or follow them on Facebook at Facebook.com/AuburnSoccer.
| Match 14: vs. #17 Texas A&M | |
| Sunday, Oct. 11 | 2 p.m. CT - #8 Auburn vs. #17 Texas A&M | | SEC Network+ |
| Locations | Auburn, Ala. | AU Soccer Complex (1,500) |
| Tickets | FREE ADMISSION |
| Additional Info | Auburn Notes  | Texas A&M Notes | SEC Notes |
| Online | Twitter: @AuburnSoccer | WEGL 91.1 FM | SEC Network+/WatchESPN |