March 9, 2017 BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - Dani Solaru rattled home the first goal of the spring season for the Auburn soccer team in a 2-1 defeat in an exhibition at Samford.
"We were much improved from last week in our quality of play," said head coach Karen Hoppa. "We just need to do a better job taking care of the little details of the game."
The Tigers nearly went ahead in the opening 15 minutes of play when Kristen Dodson had a diving header that was pushed away. Hannah Alspach provided the service from the outside.
Both Auburn and Samford created a pair of chances in the next 30 minutes, but the game remained scoreless heading into halftime.
Ellie Leek provided a seething through ball that Bri Folds was able to latch on to, but her shot was unable to sneak past the post.
Sophie Milich held true between the sticks when she made a diving save 20 minutes into the final period of play.
Samford broke the deadlock 15 minute before the full 90, but Solaru knotted the match back up with Auburn's first away goal in the spring season.
The Bulldogs found the back of the net once more in the final moments to take the result.
Auburn returns to the pitch Saturday, March 25 against LSU. The final home match of the spring is set for a 12 p.m. kickoff at the Auburn Soccer Complex.