The No. 10 Auburn soccer team kicked off its 2017 season in style with a resounding 3-0 win against South Alabama Friday night. The Tigers (1-0-0) outshot the Jaguars (0-1-0) 11-4 in the contest at the Auburn Soccer Complex.
“I’m really happy with our performance tonight,” said head coach Karen Hoppa. “We improved from our two exhibitions for sure. We started out both halves really hot getting goals in the first five minutes.
“I think we need to do better in certain areas, but overall I’m pleased with a 3-0 result against a really quality South Alabama team.”
Ellie Leek, Courtney Schell and Taylor Troutman got on the scoresheet for Auburn. Bri Folds added an assist in the 90-minute affair.
The Tigers got off to a quick start, netting two goals inside the opening six minutes of the match.
In the third minute, Troutman dribbled the ball along the left flank and took a shot from 25 yards out, tucking a curling effort around the opposing goalkeeper at the far post.
Auburn doubled its lead just past the five-minute mark when Schell blasted a shot from just outside the box that drilled the post and found the back of the net to make it 2-0.
The Tigers held the lead into halftime and maintained a 5-1 shot advantage after 45 minutes of play.
Sixty-six seconds into second half, Leek took a pass from Folds and smacked a driven shot from 25 yards away that crossed the line and made it 3-0.
The back line of Hannah Alspach, Caroline Bado, Sarah Houchin and Troutman stood tall and kept South Alabama off the board in the second half, preserving the shutout win.
Goalkeeper Sarah Le Beau was tested once and made one save in the match.
Auburn returns to the pitch Sunday evening against Lipscomb. Kickoff is slated for 6 p.m. at the Auburn Soccer Complex.
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