AUBURN, Ala. – Facing its highest ranked opponent in program history, the App State Mountaineers pitched a second half shutout, but fell to the 13th-ranked Auburn Tigers 3-0 at the Auburn Soccer Complex on Sunday.
Mumu Guisasola had a spectacular game defensively, clearing multiple shots off the App State (2-1-1) goal line to keep the Mountaineers in the match, while goalkeeper
Sarah Wommack finished with six saves and faced a season-high 23 shots on the afternoon.
The Tigers (5-0-0) scored three first half goals, including one in the opening three minutes of play. Mallory Mooney crossed a ball through the box, and despite a Mountaineer defender deflecting the pass, it made its way to Shelby Sallee for the finish.
Auburn scored again off a free kick in the 27
th minute, and capped its scoring on a header finish from Becky Contreras off a corner kick less than two minutes before halftime. The Tigers earned 12 corner kicks in the match.
The Mountaineers showed a resilient spirit for all 90 minutes, finishing the match with four shots and two on target – both from
Izzi Wood.
App State's best scoring opportunity came in the eighth minute of play.
Kaytan Kroboth out-ran the defense on an over-the-top service from Guisasola but was denied on a chip attempt by the Auburn goalkeeper. As play continued, Kroboth fed
Olivia Simon for a one-timer at the top of the box that was blocked out of play for a corner kick.
Eighteen Mountaineers saw playing time in the match, including
Lauren Smith, who came off the bench to give the Mountaineers a season-high 52 minutes of play. Guisasola,
Skyler Walk and
Shannon Studer played all 90 minutes in the match.
App State will return home on Thursday to take on the Radford Highlanders in Boone. The Mountaineers will look to extend their home unbeaten streak to 14 in a row, against a 4-1 Radford team that has won three in a row, following a 2-0 win over Mount St. Mary's on Saturday. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m. and the match will be broadcast on ESPN+.
