ORANGE BEACH, Ala. – No. 15 Auburn battled back from a four-goal deficit against top-seeded and No. 6 Arkansas but ultimately came up just short, dropping the SEC Tournament quarterfinal contest 4-3 Tuesday night in Orange Beach, Alabama.
"We dug a big hole in the first half, not taking care of business on set pieces, but I'm really proud of the second half," head coach Karen Hoppa said. "To score three goals against the top team in the league is a great effort. With our young group I think it's something we'll build on and we're excited for the future with this team."
The Tigers (4-4-2) outshot Arkansas 17-16 in the contest, including 13-6 in the second half. The team's three second-half goals were the most in a game this season and matched the Tigers' SEC Tournament record for goals in a half.
"I think we take away that our young group can play with anyone in the country," Hoppa added. "Arkansas is one of the top teams in the country, and that 45 minutes we dominated. We won the second half 3-0, and we need to learn from that and be able to put together a 90-minute performance like that second half."
SEC All-Freshman Team honoree Anna Haddock had a hand in all three goals for the Tigers as she assisted on the first two and scored the third, marking her first career goal. Haddock's four-point effort is the highest by an Auburn player this season and marks the most by a Tiger in the SEC Tournament since 2016.
Mallory Mooney and Sydney Richards, who accounted for the goals in Sunday's win vs. Georgia, also found the back of the net against the Razorbacks, and M.E. Craven recorded her first career point with an assist.
Arkansas (8-1-0) struck early and often as the Razorbacks found the back of the net four times in the first 22 minutes. Three of the Razorbacks' goal came off corner kicks while another was rebounded off a saved penalty kick.
However, Auburn was able to hold the Arkansas attack in check for the remainder of the first half and regroup at halftime.
The Tigers came out firing in the second half as Mooney scored her second goal in as many contests in Orange Beach to put Auburn on the board in the 49th minute. Haddock played the corner kick, which was headed by Craven to Mooney's feet, and the freshman midfielder chipped it over the Arkansas back line.
Minutes later, the Tigers ramped up the pressure and cut the lead to two on Richards' team-best fourth goal of the season, also marking her second goal of the SEC Tournament.
Auburn continued to attack with eight shots in the final 30 minutes of the match, while freshman goalkeeper Maddie Prohaska held Arkansas off the scoreboard and made four saves in the second half.
Haddock cut the lead to one with 3:06 to play as she struck a right-footed free kick from just outside the box near-post past the Arkansas keeper. Looking for the equalizer, Haddock played a corner kick with 30 seconds remaining to the head of Craven, but the shot just missed the upper left 90.
Auburn's fall season comes to an end with the result in Orange Beach, and the Tigers will now await details of its spring season.
