FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – No. 15 Auburn suffered its first loss of the 2020 season, falling 2-1 at No. 6 Arkansas Friday night at Razorback Field.
The Tigers (2-1-2) fell behind 2-0 less than 20 minutes into the contest but held the Razorback (6-1-0) attack in check for the final 70 minutes to stay in the game.
Alyssa Malonson cut the deficit to one with a left-footed strike in the 76th minute, but Auburn couldn't find the equalizer before the final whistle.
"Tonight was a great, high-level SEC soccer game," head coach Karen Hoppa said. "Obviously, Arkansas is the standard right now, being the defending champions and I was really proud of our girls' effort. We made a couple mistakes to give up goals early, but we continued to battle and grow into the game. This is a game we're going to learn from, we're going to get better and we're excited to go out an play on Monday."
Earlier in the match, Malonson nearly gave Auburn the lead with a shot on frame at the 12-minute mark, but Arkansas countered and broke into the scoring 20 seconds later before doubling its advantage in the 19th minute.
The Tigers made a quartet of runs in the final 15 minutes of the first half but couldn't find the back of the net. Auburn's best chance came in the 34th minute when Jolie Baltzegar won a ball inside the 18-yard box, but her left-footed shot was just outside the upper-left 90.
Auburn came out aggressive after intermission as Mallory Mooney got off a pair of shots in the first five minutes of the second half, one that sailed just over the crossbar and another that was saved.
The Tigers stayed aggressive as Hailey Whitaker and Anna Haddock got off a pair of shots in traffic in a short span to try to cut into the Arkansas lead. However, both were saved by Razorback goalkeeper Taylor Beitz.
As the Auburn defense and freshman goalkeeper Maddie Prohaska held strong, Malonson was able to beat Arkansas' last line of defense in the 76th minute as she made a run up the flank and hit a left-footed strike just under the crossbar. The goal was the first of the season for Malonson and the second of her career.
The Tigers continued to fight for the equalizer as the clock ticked toward 0:00 but came up empty.
Prohaska made a season-high nine saves against the Arkansas attack and kept Auburn within striking distance.
Auburn faces a quick turnaround before taking on LSU (0-4-2) Monday at 2 p.m. CT in Baton Rouge, La.