COLUMBIA, Mo. – Suffering its first loss of the season, No. 23 Auburn soccer (4-1-4) was blanked, 1-0, Friday on the road versus Missouri (4-3-1) to open Southeastern Conference play.
"Credit to Mizzou, they outplayed us tonight," Auburn head coach Karen Hoppa said. "We finally got momentum part of the way through the second half, but we just couldn't find the back of the net. We will go home and regroup for a tough task in Arkansas."
The Tigers' offense sputtered as it was outshot by its Missouri counterpart 12-4, with Auburn's lone on-target shot coming from sophomore Sydnie Thibodaux in the 74th minute, only to be deflected out of play by the Mizzou keeper.
Auburn also pieced together chances from junior Maddie Simpson and senior Hailey Whitaker but could not find the seam it needed to catch the back of the net.
With the most impressive performance of the night, Tigers goalkeeper Maddie Prohaska recorded seven saves on eight shots faced, the highest total for Prohaska in an SEC game since making eight saves against Texas A&M her freshman season. The West Chester, Ohio product also continued her streak of not allowing the opposition more than a single goal in any game this season.
The difference-maker for Mizzou would be scored in the 34th minute by Kylie Dobbs via a cross from Megan Oduyoye.
Up next, the Tigers will face yet another tough test on the road against No. 14 Arkansas Thursday, Sept. 22. Kickoff in Fayetteville is slated for 6 p.m. CT.
