ORANGE BEACH, Ala. – Auburn (12-5-2, 4-5-1 SEC) battled Florida (6-9-4, 4-4-2 SEC) to penalty kicks but ultimately fell short, 2-1, in the first round of the SEC Tournament at the Orange Beach Sportsplex Sunday afternoon.
It marked the fifth time Auburn had taken a match to penalty kicks in the SEC Tournament and the first time since 2015. The team had advanced on three of four occasions entering the contest.
"It's a heartbreaker," head coach Karen Hoppa said. "We did everything we needed to do to win, we just didn't get the bounce at the end of the day. We took it to them for the last 70 minutes of the game and created 25 scoring opportunities. We just needed one more ounce of composure. Unfortunately, we didn't have it."
After Florida converted on two of its first three penalty kicks, Gianna Montini put one into the back of the net to keep the Tigers alive. However, Florida goalkeeper Kaylan Marckese got her hands on Auburn's fifth and final shot to end the match.
"We'll obviously learn from this," Hoppa said. "It's definitely great experience going into NCAAs. We're going to learn from this game and get ready for our first round NCAA game, wherever and whoever that may be."
Taylor Troutman accounted for Auburn's scoring in the contest, while Angeline Daly chipped in with an assist. It was Troutman's second goal of the season and Daly's third assist.
Auburn came out ultra-aggressive and outshot the Gators 3-0 in the first six minutes of action. However, Florida was first to get on the scoreboard after a penalty kick was awarded and scored by the Gators in the 20th minute of the contest.
Auburn and goalkeeper Sarah Le Beau held Florida at bay for the remainder of the half and trailed by one at intermission.
After Florida was issued a red card in the 57th minute, Auburn took advantage of playing a man up and evened the contest in the 74th minute as Troutman got her head on the corner kick from Daly from the top of the box and put it into the back of the net.
"Coming out of halftime, we just took it to them and never looked back," Hoppa added. "The response was tremendous. We got one and did enough to get a second, we just didn't get it."
As the team outshot Florida 21-13 through regulation and 25-15 through double overtime, the defense continued to hold strong and keep Florida off the scoreboard for the final 90 minutes of the contest.
Seventeen players saw action in the match, including five who played all 110 minutes.
Auburn will return to The Plains and await its NCAA Tournament fate, which will be announced next Monday, Nov. 5 at a time to be determined.
Auburn Falls to Florida in Penalty Kicks
