AUBURN, Ala. – For the first time all season, the Mississippi State soccer program (9-2-3, 3-2-1 SEC) suffered its first road loss, falling 1-0 to Auburn (6-3-5, 2-3-1 SEC) on Sunday afternoon.

“[I’m] very proud of the effort the girls gave, again, today,” head coach James Armstrong said. “Unfortunately, Auburn made one more play than us. We will get back to work and look to bounce back in our next match.”

Sophomore goalkeeper Mac Titus made her first career start in goal for the Maroon and White. The Chelsea, Alabama, native’s four saves in the first frame helped keep the score knotted at 0-0 entering halftime.

It would be the seventh time all season that the Bulldogs faced a scoreless tie at the break.

In the second half, State held off a wave of Auburn-attacking pressure that saw seven shots and seven corner kicks across a 14-minute stretch.

The Tigers wouldn’t find the back of the net until the 79^th minute when a Tiger player delivered a low, hard cross that found the foot of Auburn’s Carly Thatcher who slid it home for the game-winner.

State will be back in action Thursday night, Oct. 13, at in-state rival Ole Miss (9-3-2, 3-3-0 SEC). In the last outing, the Bulldogs retained possession of the Magnolia Cup for the second consecutive season, outlasting the Rebels, 3-2, in an upset win highlighted by goalkeeper Maddy Anderson who scored the game-winning penalty kick. The rivalry match will kick off at 6 p.m. CT and will be aired on SEC Network.

For more information on the Bulldog soccer program, visit HailState.com or search for “HailStateSOC” on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.