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A spirit that is not afraid

Whitaker shines, Auburn soccer off to best start since 2015

<p>Rocio Sanders (16).&nbsp;Auburn soccer vs Louisiana on Sunday, August 26, 2018, in Auburn, Ala.</p>

Rocio Sanders (16). Auburn soccer vs Louisiana on Sunday, August 26, 2018, in Auburn, Ala.

Auburn soccer is off to a scorching start.

After beating Louisiana 4-1 Sunday afternoon in Auburn, the Tigers' record improves to 4-0, making this the team's longest win streak to start a season since 2015.

“We’re a pretty young team and (to start the year) we weren’t really sure what we had,” said head coach Karen Hoppa. “Right from the Samford game, we saw we have a lot of special attacking players and that’s what is carrying us through right now.”

The Tigers have been in attack mode all year. This is the third time they’ve scored four goals in only four games.

Although the score doesn’t reflect it, the Ragin' Cajuns tamed the explosive Tigers for most of the game. From the jump, they had a defensive mindset, playing five defenders on their backline. Rarely did Louisiana ever send more than two players to attack Auburn’s goal. For 43 minutes of the game this strategy worked.

While Auburn had taken eight shots the score was still tied at 0-0. The Cajuns were able to score on their first shot of the day, taking the lead and making Auburn play from behind. That goal was the wake up the Tigers needed.

True freshman Hailey Whitaker found the back of the net in the very next minute opening the floodgates.

After the game, Whitaker, as well as her team, was visibly pumped about her scoring her first collegiate goal.

“I’ve been playing soccer all my life and this is what it comes to,” Whitaker said. “It’s a great feeling knowing I can do this for the team I’ve been practicing all summer.”

Whitaker was the first sub to come off the bench for Auburn and has played crucial minutes in the last two games, doing whatever the team needs of her.

“Hailey has been great and she’s been great in three different positions,” Hoppa said. “Our biggest job as coaches is figuring out her to use her to the best of her abilities. Today we put her up top and boy did it work great. She brings a little of everything to us.”

Auburn heads out west next weekend for a pair of California showdowns, beginning with Cal State Fullerton on Friday, Aug. 31 at 9:30 p.m. CST.


Bryce Johnson | Sports Writer

Bryce Johnson is a junior Journalism major at Auburn University from Santa Monica, CA. He works as a sports writer for The Plainsman.

  • @Brycejohnson310
  • bzj0020@auburn.edu

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