PENSACOLA, Fla. – With its season on the line, Auburn soccer showed tremendous fight, particularly in the second half, but came up just short, falling 3-2 in the opening round of the SEC Soccer Tournament at the Ashton Brosnaham Soccer Complex in Pensacola, Florida.
“Incredibly proud of the girls’ fight tonight,” head coach James Armstrong said. “We knocked on the door, but unfortunately came out on the losing end. Hate that our journey is over, particularly for our seniors who’ve had incredible careers, but foundation has been laid for the future, and we’ll learn from this experience.”
Auburn trailed 2-0 at the break, but never gave up, storming back to score a pair of its own in the second half. In the 69th minute, senior Erin Flurey connected with the head of junior Dylan Driver on a corner kick to cut the deficit to one. LSU added a third in the 78th minute, but still, Auburn pressed on. A relentless effort and great serve from junior Jordyn Crosby on the left side resulted in some chaos in the box that senior Shelby Sallee forced into the back of the net to put Auburn within striking distance with five minutes and some change on the clock.
Auburn hounded the opposing goal until the clock hit zero, outshooting LSU 11-6 in the second half, but was unable to level the match.
With the loss, the Tigers’ season comes to a close at 5-6-7.