By Ashley Stadnicki
The No. 13 Lady Vols couldn’t find their offensive spark Thursday night, falling 1-0 to Auburn at the Auburn Soccer Complex.
After going unbeaten through its first nine matches of the season, Tennessee has now dropped back-to-back contests following Sunday’s 3-1 loss to No. 3 Vanderbilt. The Lady Vols moved to 6-2-3 overall and 1-2-2 in SEC play with Thursday’s loss.
Auburn grabbed control in the 25th minute when Dylan Driver found the back of the net to give the Tigers a 1-0 advantage. It was the first time all season Tennessee entered halftime trailing, as the Lady Vols managed just one shot during the opening 45 minutes. Auburn, meanwhile, fired off six first-half attempts.
The Lady Vols’ defense did its part to keep the match within reach. Auburn finished with 11 shots, but Tennessee allowed only three of those attempts to reach the target and kept the Tigers from adding to their lead.
The problem came on the other end of the field. Tennessee struggled to create quality chances against a tough Auburn defense, finishing the night with only four total shots and none on goal. The Lady Vols finally started to find some offensive momentum late, recording three shots in the final 12 minutes, but they couldn’t come up with the equalizer before the final whistle.
The shutout was only the second time Tennessee has been held scoreless this season, but it continued a recent offensive slowdown for a team that scored 13 goals across its first four games.
UP NEXT: Tennessee will have some time to reset before another difficult SEC road test. The Lady Vols travel to Columbia to face South Carolina on Friday, Oct. 9, with kickoff set for 7 p.m. ET.