Auburn soccer capped off a weekend of adversity with a 3-2 win over the No. 9 Florida Gators Sunday at the Auburn Soccer Complex. Following their win over No. 24 LSU on Friday, the Tigers recuperated for another dramatic match, leaving it all out on the field.
“We were pumped," said Casie Ramsier. "This senior class has never beat Florida so that was the goal going into this. Let the seniors go out with a win against another SEC team, so that was a big focus.”
The Auburn defense put pressure on Florida from start to finish, allowing two goals, one of them a penalty kick, against a team that averaged three goals per game.
“We knew we were the underdogs coming in,” said defender Kiana Clarke. “You don't have a lot to lose and everything to play for.”
Auburn rolled their momentum into the second half to strike twice within the first five minutes after a scoreless first half. Ramsier recorded her third goal of the week on an aggressive run into Gator territory. Kristen Dodson kept the pressure on the Florida defense, slipping one past keeper Valerie Tysinger to make the score 2-0.
A penalty kick by Florida’s Savannah Jordan found its way past Auburn keeper Sarah Le Beau, cutting the Auburn lead in half and making the score 2-1.
The Tigers regrouped after the allowed goal.
"(We were) trying to get it figured out,” Clarke said. “There was a big gap between us and the midfield and so we were just trying to get it organized so it wouldn't happen again.”
In the 72nd minute, Jordan found the back of the Auburn net once again, making the score even at two.
Ramsier came back in the 89th minute with 25 seconds left to seal the deal for the Tigers, launching Auburn to a 10-1-0 record, 3-1-0 in SEC play.
This obviously a huge win,” said head coach Karen Hoppa. “For us it's one more step. We've got a lot of soccer to be played."
The Tigers will face rival Alabama in Tuscaloosa Thursday at 6 p.m.
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