Another successful road contest added another notch onto the Tigers win streak when they defeated Kentucky 2-1 on Thursday night. Kristen Dodson and Bri Folds lit up the scoreboard for Auburn to help the Tigers remain undefeated on the road in 2016.
“I’m really proud of our girls’ resiliency,” said head coach Karen Hoppa. “We didn’t start the first half great and a lot of that was due to Kentucky’s pressure. We missed an open net, gave up a goal and we could’ve just folded, but we didn’t.
“Our girls grew into the first half, we got one before half to go into halftime 1-1 and I thought that was a key to the game because in the second half we came out and played with a lot of confidence and did enough to win the game.”
Kentucky took the lead in the 13th minute but Auburn responded with seven shots in the following 28 minutes. Folds found the net three minutes before halftime to tie the match.
“Brooke [Ramsier] played it to Kristen [Dodson] and she gave me a great layoff to put it in the back of the net,” said Folds.
Auburn maintained pressure at the start of the second half and at the 52nd minute, Brooke Ramsier played through Casie Ramsier who sent a cross to Dodson just outside the 6 yard box. Dodson then tallied her eighth goal of the season and gave Auburn the 2-1 go-ahead lead.
The goal went on to be Dodson’s fifth match-winner of the season, tying Casie Ramsier for second-highest single-season total in program history, as Auburn held on with solid defensive play in the final 15 minutes.
Brooke Ramsier notched a pair of assists in the contest, marking a season-high for the senior en route to the team’s come-from-behind victory on Thursday.
“[The win] shows our resiliency, our determination to win and our mental toughness to not give up even when we are down,” Brooke Ramsier said. “Especially with all the adversity we face when we are away, it just shows the toughness we have and gives us confidence going forward.”
Auburn nets its first win at Kentucky since 2006 and has now defeated the Wildcats in back-to-back matches.
The Tigers return home Sunday afternoon to host Mississippi State with kickoff set for 2 p.m. CST at the Auburn Soccer Complex.
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