AUBURN, Ala. – No. 9 Auburn (9-1-1, 1-1-1 SEC) suffered its first loss of the season to Ole Miss (8-4-0, 2-1-0 SEC) as the Tigers fells to the Rebels, 3-2, Sunday afternoon at the Auburn Soccer Complex.
It was a back-and-forth contest that saw a pair of ties and a lead change, but Auburn ultimately came out on the wrong end of a one-goal decision after Ole Miss broke a 2-2 tie with a goal in the 78th minute.
"We did well to come back after going down 2-1 to tie the game," head coach Karen Hoppa said. "But our response to their third goal was poor, and our response defending their third goal was poor. We should've stopped it higher up the field, and we let one get away at home."
Jessie Gerow and Bri Folds accounted for Auburn's scoring in the match with their fifth and eighth goals of the season, respectively. Alyssa Malonson pitched in with an assist.
The Tigers got out to a lead in the 36th minute as Gerow received a feed from Malonson near the top left corner of the box and finished with a firm right foot far post to open the scoring. However, Ole Miss answered less than two minutes later to even the contest going into halftime.
The Rebels took the lead less than a minute into the second half as senior CeCe Kizer scored her first of two goals. Like Ole Miss earlier in the match, Auburn answered the goal as Folds converted her third penalty kick of the season in the 57th minute. Gerow went down on a foul in the box to set up the penalty kick.
The back-and-forth nature continued into the final 15 minutes, and Ole Miss scored the go-ahead goal on a drive through the Auburn defenders that gave the Rebels the lead for good.
Auburn stood as the final unbeaten team in the Southeastern Conference prior to the result.
The Tigers continue their conference schedule with a tough road contest at No. 13 South Carolina (7-2-0, 1-1-0 SEC) Friday at 6 p.m. CT in Columbia, S.C.
No. 9 Auburn Drops Tough Contest to Ole Miss
