After defeating Jacksonville State 2-0 in February, the Tigers hoped to secure another win during spring ball, and thanks to its veterans, Auburn defeated South Alabama 3-0.
“Well, I obviously love that we got three goals in the first half,” said head coach Karen Hoppa. “Three goals is really a separating number, and if you can get that before halftime, it’s a dominant performance. So I’m really happy with that.”
Returning for her 25th season on the Plains, Hoppa added another win under her belt with her Tigers shutting out the Jaguars.
“I’m just really happy overall, you know,” Hoppa said. “Tonight is our team banquet – our end of the year banquet – and I told the girls you want to have a good performance so that we can enjoy tonight, and they did that, so I was really proud of them.”
Auburn demanded the lead early, scoring three goals in the first half while letting its defense shine in the second half.
Graduate Becky Contreras got the Tigers on the board, scoring her goal in the 14th minute of the first half.
In the 19th minute, graduate Anna Haddock made a quick pass to redshirt sophomore Dylan Driver, who saw her opportunity to get on the board and sent her ball flying into the back of the net.
Adding to her assist, Haddock found a gap in the Jaguars’ defense to hammer her ball top left in the 30th minute. With her performance on the pitch, the midfielder was named Offensive Most Valuable Player.
“I will say it’s good to have Anna back,” Hoppa said. “She missed our first game because of an academic trip. It was great to have her back, and seeing her get a goal and assist in the first half was great.”
The Tigers dominated the pitch with 61% possession – compared to South Alabama's 39% – forcing the Jaguars to play defense. When South Alabama tried to attack, Auburn’s defense limited the Jaguars' shot attempts.
Returning from halftime, South Alabama’s offense rallied during the second half, as Auburn relented some of its possession throughout the back half.
However, the Tigers’ defense remained determined to maintain their 3-0 lead.
Auburn’s goalkeepers, redshirt sophomore Taylor Richards and redshirt freshman Jenna Sapong, stood out on the field, making several spectacular saves. Richards’ 44 minutes and three big saves earned her Defensive MVP.
“I thought the two goalkeepers were terrific,” Hoppa said. “They had a couple of really good saves, and they were really good because we did have some defensive breakdowns that we needed to fix, so South Alabama did a good job of exposing us a couple of times there. Those are things we want to fix defensively, but credit to the goalkeepers for keeping the shut out.”
Continuing spring ball, Auburn will travel to Oxford, Mississippi, to face Ole Miss on Saturday, March 23, at 1 p.m. CST.
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Caitlyn Griffin is a sophomore from Huntsville, Alabama, majoring in journalism. She started with The Plainsman in fall 2022.
Twitter: @caitlyngrif99
