Soccer Drops SEC Opener at No. 9/15 Auburn, 3-0

Friday, September 14

Auburn, Ala.

6:30 PM

Mississippi State

7-1-0, 0-1-0

#9 Auburn

8-0-0, 1-0-0

Team	1	2	Final F
Mississippi State	0	0	0
Auburn	2	1	3

Hailey Farrington-Bentil nearly put State on the board, but her goal in the 71st minute was disallowed.

Soccer Drops SEC Opener at No. 9/15 Auburn, 3-0

September 14, 2018 | Soccer

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

by Brian Ogden, Assistant Coordinator/Communications

AUBURN, Ala. – Two first-half goals dashed Mississippi State soccer's hopes breaking the program record with nine consecutive wins. The Bulldogs (7-1-0, 0-1-0 SEC) fell, 3-0, at No. 9/15 Auburn (8-0-0, 1-0-0 SEC) on Friday night.

The Tigers got goals from Bri Folds in the 21^st minute and Treva Aycock in the 31^st minute. Aycock picked up an assist on Folds' tally while Taylor Troutman and Jessie Gerow assisted on the second goal.

"I feel the chances were pretty even, and they may have had the better of chances, so in the end that's why we didn't deserve to win the game," head coach Tom Anagnost said. "However, statistically and territorially the game was in our favor. I'm pleased with how our women kept going at them and attacking them."

State had a chance to respond in the 29^th minute, when freshman Andrea Tyrrell put a header on goal, forcing the Tigers' keeper to make a diving save. MSU's best chance of the night came in the 37^th minute when the ball came to rest at senior Carly Mauldin's feet, but again Auburn's keeper poked it away with a diving stop.

For the first time this year, the Bulldogs trailed in a match after playing 675:23 without trailing dating back to 2017. MSU had outshot Auburn 9-4 in the first half and stretched that lead to 20-14 by the end of the match.

In the 71^st minute, it appeared the Bulldogs had gotten on the board when freshman Hailey Farrington-Bentil's shot came to rest in the back of the net, but the goal was waved off after the officials said she kicked the ball while it was in the keeper's hands.

"The score line doesn't reflect the game, but we have to learn from it," Anagnost said. "This is a very good team, and we feel like we lost an opportunity here."

Redshirt senior Rhylee DeCrane made four saves in the losing effort, including one from her knees to keep the deficit at two goals.

"I thought Rhylee played well," Anagnost said. "I told her that. Today, our back line wasn't what it's been. They have a few very dynamic players, and they made us pay. We left a multitude of goals on the table."

Freshman Liz Fogarty made her debut in goal for the final 7:23 of the match to give the Bulldogs more offensive options on set pieces.

While Fogarty was in the opposing goal box for a free kick, the Tigers sprung a breakaway. Aycock outran the Bulldog defense to the ball and took it downfield to score the final goal of the night on an empty net.

The Bulldogs will be off on Sunday before returning home to host No. 15/7 South Carolina on Thursday, Sept. 20, at 7 p.m. CT.

For more information on the Bulldog soccer program, follow on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram by searching for "HailStateSOC." You can also find all-access coverage of the program on SnapChat by searching for "HailStateSnap."