BATON ROUGE, La. – Redshirt junior forward Kori Locksley scored the golden goal in the 93rd minute to lift No. 15 Auburn (3-1-2) to a 1-0 road win at LSU (0-5-2) Monday in Baton Rouge.
Alyssa Malonson won a ball in the midfield and beat her defender before making a strong run up the left flank and crossing into to the six-yard box to find Locksley in front of net.
"Alyssa took a great touch to beat the defender," Locksley said of the game-winning play. "The defender was really high up on her line and didn't have any cover. It was two-v-one, me and Hailey. I thought Hailey was going to get it and so I had to take a couple steps back and just get over the ball and put it in the net."
The goal was Locksley's first of the season and marked her second game-winning goal of her career with her other coming in a 1-0 win vs. Tennessee a season ago.
"It was a really tough two-game road trip," head coach Karen Hoppa said. "I thought we had a really good performance at Arkansas, didn't get the result we wanted, but to see our team rebound today, play some really good soccer and keep the shutout for over 90 minutes before scoring the goal in overtime. I'm really proud of our team."
Locksley capitalized on the goal-scoring opportunity, but the Auburn back line also did its part as the Tigers turned in the third shutout in six contests this season.
"We've been working really hard and just kind of molded into the three back to make it work," Craven said of the defensive effort. "It was tough in the beginning, but we got it sorted out. We just worked hard to find the forwards and they got it done."
Auburn's win marked the Tigers 11th straight result in the series vs. LSU, and the Tigers haven't allowed a goal in the matchup since 2016.
The win was also Auburn's 300th in program history and guarantees the Tigers a first-round bye in the SEC Tournament later this month.
"This was huge," Locksley added. "A goal of ours is get that bye on Friday the 13th and we accomplished that. We're just really happy to get a win."
The chances for both teams were hard to come by in the first half and Auburn's back line led by captains M.E. Craven and Sarah Houchin displayed strong one-v-one defending throughout the contest.
Freshman goalkeeper Maddie Prohaska stepped up when she needed to most as she made two saves in the final seven minutes of the contest. The West Chester, Ohio, native dove to her left to glove and hold a shot on frame before coming out of net and blocking away another LSU attempt moments later.
Auburn played the final 28 minutes of the contest a man up after LSU received a red card, and the Tigers turned up the pressure in the opening minutes of overtime to get the aforementioned game winner.
Auburn managed seven shots in the contest but put five of its seven attempts on frame. Eighteen players saw action in the team's fourth overtime game of the season.
The Tigers return home to host rival Alabama (1-4-2) in the Iron Bowl of Soccer Friday, Nov. 6 at 6 p.m. CT.
