Sept. 28, 2008
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Katie Schulz scored her first two goals of the year, but it wasn’t quite enough as Auburn held off Vanderbilt for a 3-2 win Sunday afternoon at the VU Soccer Complex.
The Tigers (5-4-2, 1-0-1 SEC) won for the second-straight time in the series, and also its first conference match of the year .
The Commodores (6-3-1, 0-2-0 SEC) once again held a decided shot advantage (28-10) and made a furious comeback attempt late in the second half but ran out of time.
“I am very encouraged by the way we played in the second half,” Vanderbilt head coach Ronnie Coveleskie said. “I think we are doing a lot of great things as a team and we are getting closer to putting together a complete match.”
A Vanderbilt foul just 1:19 into the contest set up a free kick by Katy Frierson who connected from 30 yards out to give Auburn an early 1-0 advantage.
Schulz scored her first goal of the season at the 15:58 mark to tie the game at 1-1. Megan Kinsella had a shot blocked and Schulz took the rebound and scored from a few yards in front.
Rebecca Howell put the Tigers back on top at the 25:10 mark when she broke free from the Commodore defense and scored from five yards out. Stephanie Fransoso and Jenni Prescott set up the goal with assists.
The Tigers took a 2-1 lead into halftime, despite VU holding a 12-5 shot advantage and a 5-2 corner kick lead.
Auburn built its biggest lead of the game at the 61:04 mark when Gabi Rivera took a feed from Chelsea Yauch and broke past the Vanderbilt defense and unloaded a shot from 15 yards out that went in to the upper left side of the net.
The Commodores turned it up a notch and made a furious comeback attempt with a barrage of shots on goal against Auburn keeper Allison Whitworth. She stopped four VU shots before Katie Schulz broke through with her second goal of the game with just under seven minutes remaining in regulation. Schulz recieved a pass from Amy Wilcox from 10 yards out and blasted a shot into the right side of the net.
“Katie was an absolute warrior today,” Coveleskie added. “She stepped up her game, and I thought she was dynamic and patient. Katie did exactly what we needed her to do and when we were down she found a way to be an equalizer. She showed why she was one of the best players from either team on the field today.”
Vanderbilt had five more shots to tie the game, but could not convert. The best attempt came at the 83:41 mark when Molly Kinsella’s shot was thwarted by an Auburn defender who was playing in front of the net.
The ‘Dores had a 16-5 shot lead and a 7-1 corner-kick advantage in the second half. For the game, Vanderbilt outshot Auburn 28-10. Molly Kinsella had 10 shots overall and tied Katie Schulz and Nicole Lukens with three shots on goal apiece.
The Commodores will be back in action at home next weekend as SEC East foes Florida and South Carolina come to town. VU and the Gators will play on Friday at 7 p.m., and the ‘Dores and Gamecocks will play on Sunday at 2 p.m. Sunday’s match will be Senior Day as the team will recognize Taylor Ryer, Katie Schulz and Amy Wilcox prior to the contest.
