Auburn rolled into Fayetteville with one of the stingiest defenses in the country. It left with a loss anyway.
The Tigers had given up just two goals through their first 10 games. Eight of those ended with a zero on the other team’s side of the scoreboard.
Arkansas only needed one to break through. The Razorbacks shut out Auburn 1-0 on Sunday afternoon at Razorback Field.
The win lifted the Hogs to 4-4-2. They’re 2-1-1 against SEC opponents.
Auburn slipped to 6-2-3. The Tigers sit at 2-2-0 in league matches.
Sunday also kept a long home run alive. Arkansas hasn’t lost to an SEC team in its own building in 29 straight matches, and that stretch covers six years.
Auburn’s had trouble with this bunch in general. Arkansas has taken 11 of the past 12 meetings.
A freshman makes it count
Lauren Van Rhein supplied the goal in the 20th minute.
Cora Hair got things going. She fed the freshman forward just beyond the 18-yard box.
Van Rhein passed it back to midfielder Aniyah Nurse-Whyte. Nurse-Whyte tried a shot of her own.
It didn’t get through clean. The deflection sent the ball right back to Van Rhein near the six-yard box.
She hammered it low to the right. Ayana Yapo dove left, which wasn’t where the ball was headed.
That’s two straight matches with a goal for Van Rhein. She scored the equalizer against Georgia on Thursday.
Nurse-Whyte’s assist was her second this fall. She hadn’t picked one up since Aug. 30 against Little Rock.
Smith handles the back end
Goalkeeper Keegan Smith made four saves.
She hadn’t posted a solo shutout yet this season. Now she’s got one.
Smith owns 15 career shutouts. That puts her fifth on the program’s all-time list.
Her scariest moment came at the very end. Auburn defender Jordyn Crosby blasted a shot with about 10 seconds to go.
It went just over the bar. Everybody wearing red could finally exhale.
Arkansas kept the ball in the right spots most of the day. Two-thirds of its possession, 67%, came in Auburn’s half.
The Hogs had 11 shots to the Tigers’ eight. Yapo was busy too, with four saves of her own.
Missouri visits next
Another set of Tigers is up next.
Missouri comes to Razorback Field on Friday, Oct. 2. Kickoff’s set for 6:30 p.m.
Mizzou won’t show up in a great mood. South Carolina beat it 3-0 on Sunday.
A win Friday would push that home SEC unbeaten run to 30. Arkansas would probably take another 1-0 if that’s what it costs.
