COLUMBIA, S.C. — Despite a mighty effort on both ends of the ball, No. 13 Auburn soccer (12-2-4, 4-2-4) dropped its regular-season finale, falling 2-1 to No. 22 South Carolina Sunday evening at Stone Soccer Stadium.
“Really disappointed. We had opportunities to win the game, but we didn’t get it done,” Tigers head coach Karen Hoppa said. “Credit South Carolina, they made the most of their chances. It’s something we’re going to have to learn from and build on. It’ll become fuel for our fire as we head into the SEC Tournament.”
South Carolina scored first, making the most of a second chance from an attacking corner kick in the 43rd minute. Auburn found its response from sophomore Jordyn Crosby less than three minutes later.
The Tigers’ goal-scoring play began with a shot off the crossbar from senior Olivia Candelino. Candelino’s hit fell to the feet of Crosby, who used a left-footed volley to put the ball away inside the low right corner of the goal with just three seconds left on the clock until the halftime break.
“When the ball fell to me, all I could see was the touch was at our home field and all I could think about was how many times I had practiced that exact volley,” Crosby said. “I knew that I had spent hours working with that wall for a moment like that. I knew what my job was, and I found confidence in my preparation.”
Out of the break, both sides traded blows until the Gamecocks’ All-American striker Cat Barry scored in the 58th minute. Barry attempted a cross from outside the top right edge of the box that fell perfectly inside the top corner of the far post for the lead.
Auburn’s attack attempted to find an equalizer with four shots and a pair of corner kicks in the final 20 minutes of the match, but the Tigers could not penetrate the goal line on any of their looks to get back to even.
Statistically, Auburn outshot South Carolina 14-12 and created seven corners to their six. Goalkeeper Maddie Prohaska recorded three saves in the contest.
Up next, Auburn heads to Pensacola, Florida for the 2024 SEC Tournament set for Nov. 3-10 at the Ashton Brosnaham Soccer Complex. Seeding and game times will be announced following the completion of the SEC’s weather make-up matches on Wednesday, Oct. 30.