AUBURN, Ala. — Auburn soccer put up yet another good fight but could not find the offensive firepower it needed to surpass No. 18 Tennessee, falling 1-0 Thursday at the Auburn Soccer Complex.
Both squads traded blows often and early with 35 combined shots between the teams, but it was the Lady Vols who found the difference-maker in the 74th minute.
"Overall, we played a great game," Tigers head coach Karen Hoppa said. "Tennessee is a great team, and we went toe-to-toe with them. The difference was they finished on one of their chances and we didn't. It's heartbreaking to play so well and not get the result."
Defense was steady per usual, as the Tigers' four-back of Hailey Whitaker, Madeline Moore, M.E. Craven and Hayden Colson pushed 10 Lady Vol shots off target. Junior goalkeeper Maddie Prohaska collected eight saves on nine shots faced, marking the highest total for Prohaska this season since earning nine at Florida State on Aug. 25.
For the Auburn attack, sophomore Carly Thatcher proved to be the most dangerous with a pair of on-goal opportunities in the match's final 15 minutes. Junior Olivia Candelino led the team with the most shots, 4, throughout the evening.
In the 4th minute, Prohaska set the tone early with an emphatic stuff on Lady Vol shot placed dead center. The West Chester, Ohio product would collect four more saves in the first half, coming in minutes 13, 32, 39 and 40.
Perhaps her most thrilling stop of the night came in that 40th minute as Prohaska made a diving stop to her left after a Tennessee striker was able to get around two Tiger defenders and fire off a shot from nine yards outside the right post.
Auburn's only on-net chance in the first 45 came via a Maddie Simpson header after the Tigers were award a free kick off the left wing of the penalty box. Junior Anna Haddock delivered the set piece to Simpson; however, the Lady Vol keeper was able to make the stop at bottom center of the net.
Coming out of the break, the Tigers found some offensive life, ripping off 12 total shots with a handful of on-target chances coming from Haddock and Thatcher.
Ultimately, it was Tennessee who found the right bounce in the 74th minute as the Lady Vols' Kameron Simmonds took a shot from the right edge of the penalty box that found the crossbar for a deflection into the back of the Orange & Blue net.
Up next, Auburn treks to Baton Rouge for its penultimate SEC faceoff at LSU Sunday, Oct. 23. First kick is set for 1 p.m. CT.
