The No. 21 Auburn soccer team lost for the first time in the 2012 season, falling 2-1 at No. 8 Pepperdine on Friday afternoon. The loss drops Auburn’s record to 2-1-0 while Pepperdine is now 2-0-0.

 

“I think this is a game we are going to be able to learn a lot from. Pepperdine is a great team and they are deservedly a top-25 team,” Auburn Head Coach Karen Hoppa said. “We made a lot of young mistakes. It’s early in the season and we are relying on a lot of young players and a lot of players in different positions. I think if we made a few less mistakes I think we would have had a chance to win the game.”

 

Facing a two-goal deficit just three minutes into the second half, Auburn got within a goal in the 55^th minute on Alexa Allen’s second goal of the season but Auburn was unable to find the back of the net the rest of the way as Pepperdine, which took 15 shots to Auburn’s 12, controlled the pace of the play late.

 

Pepperdine struck first in the 35^th minute when Anisa Guajardo fired a shot in high that Auburn goalkeeper Amy Howard was able to put the mitts on but was unable to stop. The goal came with just 10:02 remaining in the first half off of a Lynn Williams cross, a lead it would hold into halftime and Auburn’s first deficit of the season.

 

Pepperdine wasted little time coming out of the break to take a two goal lead as Amanda LeCave beat Howard with a shot to the post in the 48^th minute.

 

Auburn answered in the 55^th minute to make it a one-goal game, 2-1. Natalie Donaldson found herself deep in the corner and crossed one through the box that Tatiana Coleman one-touched back to Allen, who buried the ball in the back of the net.

 

Auburn had two quality chances in the first but was foiled by a pair of Pepperdine defenders. Tori Ball put a shot on frame following a Mary Coffed corner in the 11^th minute but her shot found the chest of a Pepperdine back just in front of the goal line. Coleman’s scoring chance in the 28^th minute was also stopped by a Pepperdine defender as her sharp-angle shot on frame was past Pepperdine goalkeeper Erinn Middo but found a Pepperdine defender, who headed out the clear.

 

Each goalkeeper finished with five saves in the match.

 

Auburn remains in California for its next match, Sunday at 5pm CT at UC Irvine.

 

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