The 14th-ranked Auburn women's soccer team returned to SEC play Sunday in Knoxville, Tennessee, where it defeated the Vols 3-1.
The win pulls the Tigers' conference record even at 1-1 and adds to the win column overall to put Auburn at 8-1-0. The win was Auburn's first over Tennessee since 2011 and marked the 100th SEC victory in program history.
A strong midfield was the key to the Tigers' triumphant win, with Brooke and Casie Ramsier and Courtney Schell playing a full 90 minutes for the second time this season. The three kept Auburn on the offensive, with Brooke totaling her career-high in assists in a game with three.
"Credit to our midfield, our possession was great," said head coach Karen Hoppa. "Our entire midfield was the MVP of this game."
Senior Sophie Simantel was able to score her first goal of the season in the 21st minute before Tennessee responded in the 32nd minute, tying the match.
Auburn retook the lead in the 36th minute when freshman Charlotte Van Ishoven scored her second goal of the year. Kristen Dodson extended the Auburn lead with another goal in the 62nd minute.
"We knew we had to rebound from Missouri today. We knew we had to be conservative in the back and keep the ball as well as we could," said Simantel. "This was a good win for us and we just want to keep going."
The Tigers scored three times on a team that had only given up one goal this season entering Sunday's match.
Auburn controlled the shot opportunities 15-13, with redshirt freshman Sarah Le Beau recording four saves.
"It was a great total team effort today," said Hoppa. "They had a great mentality, because we know every single one of these SEC games are going to be tough."
Auburn will return home this weekend to face LSU on Friday, Sept. 25, and Florida on Sunday, Sept. 27, at the Auburn Soccer Complex.
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