AUBURN, Ala. – In a top-10 matchup on the Plains, No. 10 Auburn went toe-to-toe with No. 1 Florida State but ultimately came up short, 2-1, Sunday afternoon at the Auburn Soccer Complex.
Florida State (7-0-0) took a 2-0 lead into halftime, but Auburn (6-1-0) came out the aggressor in the second half and maintained possession for the majority of the final 45 minutes against the No. 1 Seminoles.
Sophomore midfielder Anna Haddock scored her team-best fifth goal of the season in the 55th minute to cut the deficit to one and nearly found the equalizer in the late stages, but the Tigers fell just short.
"We're disappointed in the result, but I'm really proud of my team," head coach Karen Hoppa said. "We had chances to beat the number one team in the country.
"I thought we got better from first half to second half, and we had them under pressure and created some chances there at the end," Hoppa added. "We showed we deserve to be a top-10 team today."
Florida State entered Sunday's matchup having allowed just 10 shots on the season, including five on goal. The Tigers totaled eight shots in the hard-fought contest, including outshooting the Seminoles 5-2 in the second half, and won four corner kicks to Florida State's two.
"I think we are a very responsive team, and it showed in the second half," Haddock said. "It's just something that we can build on for the rest of the year, knowing that we played side-by-side with the best team in the country."
Florida State scored 29 seconds into the game, but Auburn stayed the course. Olivia Candelino narrowly missed the back of the net in the 11th minute when she found space in the box and fired with the right foot, but the shot skipped just wide of frame.
The Seminoles doubled the lead with a goal in the 37th minute to take a 2-0 advantage into halftime.
However, as they have gotten accustomed to this season, Tigers came out of halftime the aggressor. Auburn won a corner kick 25 seconds into the half and, two minutes later, nearly cut into the lead when Alyssa Malonson served one from the left wing to Candelino near post, but the header was blocked away.
The Tigers maintained the intensity and cut the deficit to one as Haddock scored the aforementioned goal. Grace Sklopan won a ball in the Tigers attacking third and played it to Haddock in the middle of the field. The sophomore midfielder then hit it with her left foot from distance and into the upper 90.
"I saw the opportunity to take the girl on one-on-one and find the back of the net," Haddock said. "It was a good feeling, and it was something that we needed in that moment. It was a really solid team performance for us in the second half."
Haddockhas now registered a point in six of seven games to start the season.
The Tigers continued to increase the tempo and push for a late equalizer but ultimately game up short. However, the season-high crowd of more than 1,000 backed the Tigers the whole way.
"There is no better preparation for SEC play next week than this game today," Hoppa said.
The Tigers wrap up a five-match homestand and begin SEC play against Georgia (6-1-0) Friday, Sept. 17 at 6:30 p.m. CT at the Auburn Soccer Complex.
