The side was forced off the Caledonian Ground shortly after halftime during its national football premiership match against Auckland City yesterday.
Surface water had gathered to the point that the pitch was deemed unplayable by referee Cory Mills, who declined to comment afterwards.
It was a decision which left many in the crowd confused and the team visibly disappointed.
Rain had grown steadily heavier throughout the game, climaxing in a torrential downpour at halftime.
The players returned for the second half, but two minutes later disappeared again to take a 10-minute break.
Five minutes later, it was announced the game had been abandoned.
At that point the score was 0-0, Southern was on top and showed no sign of wanting to leave the field.
That now counts for nothing as the match is to be rescheduled for a later date.
Southern coach Paul O'Reilly was disappointed with the situation, although was philosophical about the decision.
``It's disappointing that the game didn't continue,'' he said.
``The pitch and the referees and all that, it's not really my say what the decision was.
``I think, in fairness to the referees, it's about player safety for them and they've made the decision they think is the right decision, it is what it is.
``There is, to be fair, a massive amount of surface water and there's nothing solving that.
``There's two or three inches of surface water on the pitch, so I don't see how the game could continue, really.''
O'Reilly said the flooding on the pitch was bad, but said the side had been keen to continue.
The team had been up for the game and felt it could have achieved a result.
Indeed it had the better of the first half and went close to scoring when a Danny Ledwith rocket was tipped over the goal by Auckland keeper Enaut Zubikarai.
Auckland, meanwhile, did not have one shot on goal and had its only threatening period just before halftime.
``The boys were outstanding all week. There was a real appetite to get a result,'' O'Reilly said.
``To be honest we had a real appetite to finish the game, we wanted to get on with it.
``But in saying that I don't want to be disrespectful to the referees.
``Player safety is paramount for them and that's why they've made the decision.''
Southern had been dangerous on the counterattack and also holding up well defensively.
It looked to press high and made Auckland work to get into attacking positions.
Those were all things O'Reilly found encouraging, saying it showed the progress the team had made.
Football New Zealand did not respond to calls seeking comment.
In other games Hawke's Bay United held Canterbury United to a 2-2 draw, Eastern Suburbs beat the Wellington Phoenix Academy 2-0 and Hamilton Wanderers beat Tasman United 2-1.
Team Wellington played Waitakere United in the late game.
