Auburn Stunned By Arkansas, Falls 1-0

by Dan Froehlich Auburn Media Relations

October 14, 2012

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The Auburn soccer team dominated Arkansas in every statistical category but one, falling 1-0 on Sunday afternoon at Razorback Field.

Auburn (9-8-0, 5-5-0 SEC) out-shot Arkansas, 17-8, including 11-2 in the second half, took eight corners to none for Arkansas (7-8-1, 4-5-1 SEC) and put seven shots on goal compared to just three for Arkansas but was unable to finish any of its chances in falling to Arkansas for the first time since the 2000 season.

“To be honest we lost this game in the first half; we had plenty of chances to get on the board early and we didn’t,” Auburn Head Coach Karen Hoppa said. “We didn’t have the composure to finish those opportunities and it cost us the game. When we are on the road we can’t take those chances for granted. Give Arkansas credit, they defended us really well, they finished on a set piece and they did a good job of finishing the game out.”

Arkansas got the lone goal when it capitalized on a free kick deep inside the Auburn zone in the 62^nd minute. Allie Tripp served the ball in following the foul call on Kala Faulkner and it went right to the head of Sam Wolf, who headed it in for her first goal of the year and a 1-0 lead.

Neither team could light the scoreboard in the first half, though both had some good chances as each put two shots on frame. Not included in that tally was a pair of Auburn shots that were banged off the crossbar as Ashley Kotero and Mary Coffed each found metal within a few seconds of each other seven minutes into the match.

The scoreless first half was the fifth straight for Auburn, which has scored just nine first-half goals this season while surrendering only seven.

Auburn’s four-match road swing concludes next weekend at Vanderbilt and Kentucky.

Follow Auburn Soccer on twitter @AU_Soccer.