An offensive standstill summarized the Friday night matchup on Oct. 13 between A&M soccer and Auburn, which ended in a 0-0 draw.
The first half was relatively quiet on both sides of the ball as the Aggies produced a mere three shots, but all of them were on target. Auburn finished the half with six fouls, while the Fightin’ Farmers lived up to their namesake and totaled nine.
“It [is] always a hard place to play here at Auburn,” coach G Guerrieri said. “[Auburn was] always very organized [and] hard to get behind them. I was pleased with the way our team came out, especially in the second half, outshooting them 10-6.”
Fifth-year goalkeeper Kenna Caldwell had a busy night and racked up six saves throughout the match against the Tiger offense.
Compared to last week’s matchup against Alabama, A&M struggled to take advantage of offensive opportunities this game.
The lack of corner kicks on both ends of the pitch also helped lead to a lack of offense from both schools. The Aggies earned four throughout the game, while Auburn managed to get only two set pieces.
The Maroon and White ended the night with 14 fouls against the Tigers, luckily for A&M though, none were yellow cards. Compared to its opposition, Auburn wrapped up its night with only seven penalties.
“I thought that the way our back line is set up.. [with] two freshmen, a sophomore and a junior as our makeup [has] really [came together],” Guerrieri said. “[Caldwell] has done a wonderful job of leading… and hats off to [the back line for] another shutout and another really solid performance.”
The leading shooters of the match belonged to Auburn senior midfielder Anna Haddock and fifth-year forward Sydney Richards, each with three shots, graduate forward Sammy Smith led the Aggies with five attempts. Smith has a total of three goals and six assists so far in the 15 games she has played in this season.
“Another point [for the playoff standings, and] we keep marching on,” Guerrieri said. “Now we have a chance to come home [and] finish off our home stand with another tough game [against] a nationally ranked program coming to Ellis Field with South Carolina.”
Next, the Aggies will head home for their final home game of the regular season against South Carolina on Thursday, Oct. 19 at 7 p.m. at Ellis Field for Senior Night.