The Auburn soccer team claimed its first win of the season, defeating in-state opponent Troy 5-0 on Sunday night.
Auburn moved to 1-0-1 on the season, gaining a victory after its 0-0 draw to the Samford Bulldogs on Thursday, where the Tigers struggled to put shots on goal.
Shots on goal were not a problem for Auburn against the Trojans. The Tigers took 17 shots, nine of which were on goal, and scored five times.
“We felt like if we could just break the ice, it would open the floodgates,” said head coach Karen Hoppa. “And that certainly happened today.”
The Tigers’ defense remained locked in throughout the matchup, allowing only two shots from the Trojans, one of which was on goal.
The solid performance from the Auburn backline of Madeline Moore, Mallory Mooney, LJ Knox and Hayden Colson gave Auburn its second-consecutive clean sheet to open the 2023 campaign.
“We did a really good job of keeping the ball and limiting their time on the ball,” Hoppa said. “That created several great opportunities, including three goals.”
The Tigers first goal came at the 14-minute mark when midfielder Anna Haddock scored well outside the box off her left foot. Haddock’s left-footer opened the floodgates for what would be four more goals from Auburn.
With under a minute left in the first period, Colson put the ball in Troy’s box in the left side of the pitch, and Maddy Bondon scored off a header from teammate Maddie Simpson, putting the Tigers up 2-0 at the half.
It took the Tigers less than six minutes to find a goal in the second half, with forward Sydney Richards taking a slide to put the ball into the goal. Richards finished the night with two goals, scoring her second within five minutes of her first and putting Auburn up 4-0.
“Relentless was our saying today,” Richards said. “It was good to finally get one, and I think it helped me out with the momentum of the other one.”
Auburn’s fifth and final goal came from Marissa Arias, who cleared the keeper with her left foot, cleaning up a shot off the crossbar.
“We need to keep learning from the things we do well,” Hoppa said. “We need to try to replicate those things on a really tough road trip.”
The Tigers head to Syracuse, New York, Thursday to take on the Orange. The game begins at 2 p.m. CST and will be televised on ACC Network.
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Grace Heim is a junior from Enterprise, Alabama, majoring in English Literature. She started with The Plainsman in January 2023.
