Auburn soccer improved its record to 6-0 after a 5-0 victory over Alabama A&M on Thursday night at the Auburn Soccer Complex. With the win, the Tigers now won their 11th consecutive game, extending a program record. The 11-game win streak is currently the longest in the nation.
For the ninth game in a row, Auburn scored more than one goal. The Tigers scored just nine minutes into the game, as Marissa Arias scored on the Tigers' sixth shot attempt to put Auburn up 1-0. This was Auburn's only goal in its first 20 shot attempts.
The Tigers opened up the lead in the 33rd minute as Carly Thatcher scored two goals in 30 seconds to put the her team up 3-0. Arias scored her second goal of the game just 25 seconds into the second half to give Auburn a 4-0 lead.
"It was amazing," Arias said. "I've been working all season to put the ball into the back of the net, and to get my first start and first two goals of the season, it was really exciting."
Thatcher then tallied her third goal of the evening to provide Auburn's final margin of victory. The freshman recorded Auburn's first hat trick since April 17, 2021, when Mallory Mooney scored three goals against Virginia Tech.
"I'm certainly feeling really good," said Thatcher. "It was a lot of fun and I'm just really blessed to have that opportunity and get to be able to do that."
Auburn head coach Karen Hoppa also weighed in on Thatcher's performance.
"I'm really proud of her," Hoppa said. "She was banged up and missed the last game and really came back with a bang tonight."
The Tigers' five goals came on 49 shots, tying their most in a game since Sept. 16, 2018, against Alabama State. Of the 49 shots the Tigers took, just 18 were shots on goal. It's one of the needed areas of improvement Hoppa highlighted postgame.
"We've got to be better at shot selection and we've got to be better at frame percentage," Hoppa said.
In stark contrast to Auburn's 49 shots, Alabama A&M had no shot attempts. It was the second consecutive game in which Auburn held its opponent without a shot attempt.
"It gives us some confidence, two games back-to-back, shutting teams out," Hoppa said.
It was the fourteenth consecutive game in which the Tigers allowed a goal or less.
Auburn's victory sets up a clash of unbeaten teams on Sunday afternoon, as the No. 10 Tigers will host No. 1 Florida State in a nationally televised game. It will be the Tigers' final non-conference game before SEC play begins.
"Coach always says one game at a time, so now that we've finally finished that game, we can head into Sunday and go in with confidence," Thatcher said. It will be the Tigers' final non-conference game before SEC play begins.
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Matthew is a senior from Huntsville, Alabama, majoring in journalism. He started with The Plainsman in fall 2021.
Twitter: @mattwallaceAU
