AUBURN, Ala. – Auburn and Samford battled in a back-and-forth affair that ultimately resulted in a 3-3 draw at the Auburn Soccer Complex Sunday evening.
The Tigers (3-3-1) fell in a 2-0 hole 31 minutes into the contest, but drew back to even before halftime with a pair of goals from Sarah Houchin and Bri Folds.
Folds played a ball into the box off a free kick and Houchin found herself on the receiving end to get Auburn on the board. Less than four minutes later, the Lakeland, Florida, native evened the match as she buried a free kick from just outside the top of the 18-yard box.
"The character of the team, to tie the game up before halftime, was massive," head coach Karen Hoppa said. "That's credit to the players. They kept working. They kept fighting. All of the sudden, we got one and were like 'OK, we can do this'. We got another and just told them to build on the momentum."
The team then kept the momentum and took the lead in the 64th minute as Kori Locksley pushed the ball up the right side and played a cross to Sydney Richards, who finished with the right foot inside the box. However, Samford (3-2-3) sent the contest to overtime with the equalizer in the 90th minute.
"We got a great goal," Hoppa added. "Kori played a great ball into Sydney for the finish, but we just had a really tough breakdown there in the last minute of regulation."
Folds' goal was her team-best fifth of the season – all coming in the last six contests – while the goals for Houchin and Richards were their third. Folds added an assist, marking her second three-point effort of the season, while Locksley came through with her first point of the season and second of her career.
After Samford scored on a header with 15 second remaining in the contest, neither team was able to end the match with a golden goal as a total of four shots were taken in the extra 20 minutes of action.
Auburn was the aggressor from the get-go as the Tigers registered a season-high 29 shots, including 15 on goal. Seventeen of the team's shots came in the first half.
Seventeen players saw action in the match, including three who played all 110 minutes. Folds led the way with a season-high eight shots, while Hailey Whitaker and Angeline Daly added four shots apiece.
The Tigers open Southeastern Conference play with a nationally-television contest at Kentucky Thursday at 6 p.m. CT. The match will be broadcast on SEC Network.