The Auburn Tigers (4-4-1) handed the Southern Miss soccer team (6-2-2) their first loss since the Sept. 6 match against the University of South Alabama. The Tigers defeated the Golden Eagles 6-0 on Sept. 22 in a match that saw only three shots by the USM offense.

Brittany Taylor, the freshman Southern Miss goalkeeper, made four saves despite losing the match. The Southern Miss defense had their hands full, as Auburn’s offense remained solid throughout, getting off 19 shots, ten of which were on goal. Each of Auburn’s six goals was scored by a different player.

Only two Golden Eagles managed to make shots. Forward Danica Roberts recorded one in the first period while Anya Koren recorded two. Auburn’s goalkeeper was solid though, Alicen Wright, made two saves that helped her turn her debut into her first win.

Auburn played strong and won the match despite having four offside penalties and six fouls. Southern Miss had seven fouls and no offside penalties.

USM head coach Mohammed El-Zare wanted to put the match behind him.

“Obviously, we are disappointed with the loss, but we have to put this one behind us. Our focus right now has to be on the start of conference play on Friday,” El-Zare said. “This was a good match to prepare us for that.”

The Golden Eagles’ visit to Auburn on Sunday was the team’s final non-conference match of the season. USM plays their first Conference-USA match on Friday, Sept. 27, against North Texas (6-2).

USM will have a tough match in Denton, Texas, this Friday. The Mean Green have shut out TCU and Oklahoma, and their only losses were to Virginia Tech and nationally-ranked Wake Forest. North Texas is also undefeated at home this season.