Kailey Brenner had the ball at her feet in the box with just under 13 minutes to play. She took one touch to her left, and that was all the Auburn defense would allow her before stepping in front, clearing the danger. 

After losing the ball, Brenner fell to the turf for a couple moments, not in pain but simply exhausted. 

Syracuse (2-2) made just three substitutions in a 2-0 loss to Auburn on Thursday night. The Tigers made 18. With nine injured players on the roster, Nicky Adams had no other options to alleviate the toll the southern humidity was taking on her players. 

Early on, both defenses stood tall. Sophomore Meghan Root had the Orange’s best chance of the first half 19 minutes in, but failed to get much power behind the shot as it floated harmlessly into Auburn keeper Kate Hart’s arms. 

As Auburn continued to cycle fresh legs, Syracuse began to tire and lose its shape and composure. Junior keeper Lysianne Proulx kept SU in the game with two acrobatic saves – one with her face, the other with a leaping punch. 

In the second half, the Tigers continued to pressure the Orange before finally breaking through with a goal in the 51st minute. Sixteen minutes later, third-team All-American Bri Folds snuck a shot between Proulx’s fist and the crossbar to give Auburn a commanding 2-0 lead. 

The Orange mustered just one shot on net in the second half and two for the entire match. 

Proulx made a career-high 10 saves in the loss, while junior Georgia Allen tallied one shot on goal in her return from U-21 English international play a week ago.

Published on September 5, 2019 at 10:12 pm

Contact Tim: tnolan@syr.edu