AUBURN, Ala. – The Vanderbilt women’s soccer team dropped its second straight road game, 3-0, to No. 22 Auburn on Sunday at the AU Soccer Complex.
The Commodores matched the Tigers with 12 shots in the game, but only managed two shots on goal to six for the Tigers. AU goalkeeper Amy Howard made two stops to earn the shutout, while VU junior Jessica Amlaw made three saves.
“We’re proud of our team and the effort they gave,” VU Head Coach Derek Greene said. “We played really well today at Auburn, but we need to find a way to get a result. Give Auburn credit. They battled and found a way to win.”
Auburn scored its first goal in the 27th minute when Tori Ball connected on her first of the season, and took a 1-0 lead into the halftime break. Vanderbilt outshot Auburn, 7-4, in the first half, and earned five corners to only one for Auburn.
“We put Auburn under a lot of pressure in the first half,” Greene said. “But unfortunately, we had nothing to show for it at halftime. Auburn is a very dangerous team when they go forward on the counterattack. They punished us on all three of their dangerous chances.”
The Tigers increased their lead early in the second stanza, with Mary Coffed splitting two Vanderbilt defenders to give Auburn a 2-0 lead in the 47th minute. Auburn got an insurance goal in the 56th minute, with Katy Frierson notching her third of the year after winning possession near midfield.
Vanderbilt (6-4, 0-2 Southeastern Conference) continues its tough road trip to open SEC play next weekend, traveling to Florida and South Carolina. The Commodores and Gators will face off on Friday, Sept. 30, at 6 p.m. CT. Sunday’s game at South Carolina is scheduled for a 2 p.m. CT start on ESPNU.
