Sept. 4, 2016
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AUBURN, Ala. ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" In a tightly-contested match at the Auburn Soccer Complex on Sunday night, No. 21 Auburn fell 2-0 to USC. The Tigers (3-3-0) mounted a bevy of attacks that led to 13 shots, including eight on target.
"I'm really proud of our team," said head coach Karen Hoppa. "I thought we played some great soccer. Obviously, USC is a great team and really well-coached. I thought it was just a really quality soccer game and we were unlucky to not finish our chances, but give credit to USC. They scored on two corners and were able to come out of here with a win."
Ellie Leek led the way on offense with three shots, including two on net, while Casie Ramsier and Courtney Schell contributed two shots apiece.
The Tigers came out firing right away to start off the match. In the first minute of play, Kristen Dodson found Casie Ramsier, who then laid it off to Leek for a curling effort that was hauled in by an extraordinary effort from the opposing goalkeeper.
Sarah Le Beau kept things level with a diving snare in the 14th minute to keep the score level at 0-0.
Ten minutes later, Brooke Ramsier laced a firecracker from 25 yards away that rocked the crossbar, but was unable to cross the line.
In the 26th minute, USC (3-2-0) broke the tie with a goal from a corner to make it 1-0. The Trojans kept that margin heading into the locker room.
The opening of the second half mirrored the first half with Dodson again working it around to Leek, who forced a diving save by the USC goalie to keep the score at 1-0.
Avery Batson then made a pair of crucial sliding challenges to thwart the Trojan attack in the 53rd minute.
USC doubled its lead with 14 minutes to play on a ball that bounced around the box and ended up finding the back of the net.
Auburn ratcheted up the intensity even more, but was unable to find a goal and eventually fell, 2-0.
USC head coach Keidane McAlpine returned to The Plains for the first time since he was an assistant coach at Auburn under Hoppa from 2006-11.
"It's always a bit emotional having someone you work with for so long on the opposite bench," stated Hoppa on McAlpine coming back. "There's also a source of pride in what he's doing with that program and how good they are. There were a lot of emotions."
USC goalkeeper Sammy Jo Prudhomme and Iowa State netminder Lindsey Hendon were awarded Co-MVP honors for each producing back-to-back shutouts in the Auburn Soccer Classic.
Auburn returns to its home field on Friday when it opens up conference play against Vanderbilt. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m. and will be broadcasted on the SEC Network.