AUBURN, Ala. (EETV) – The No. 10 Auburn Tigers defeated Alabama A&M this afternoon at the Auburn Soccer Complex 5-0.
Coming into this game, the Auburn-Alabama A&M series was 1-0-0 in favor of the Tigers. Their previous meeting dated all the way back to 2000. The Tigers, riding the longest win streak in program history, looked to extend that number against the Bulldogs.
Auburn started off the game creating chances early. After a fortunate set of rebounds, Marrissa Arias was able to find the net inside the first ten minutes of the game. However, the star of the night was freshman Carly Thatcher. Thatcher came on the score sheet with 12:59 remaining in the first half, first scoring off a header from Grace Sklopan.
Then, thirty seconds later, Thatcher scored her second goal of the night. This time came after a cross from the left side by Kylie Bechard. Thatcher scored her first brace as an Auburn Tiger in only thirty seconds.
Auburn ended the half with a 3-0 lead. Heading into the second half, the Tigers continued their dominance on the pitch. In the first 30 seconds, Sydney Richards sent a ball into the box for Marrisa Arias to get her second goal of the night. That was Arias’ third goal as an Auburn Tiger. The game kept its intensity as the defense did not give up a single shot.
Freshman Carly Thatcher scored again, notching her third of the night and the last of the game. Thatcher not only scored her first hat trick as an Auburn Tiger, but the occurrence also marked the first time someone has scored a hat trick since Mallory Mooney scored hers against Virginia Tech in the season finale last year.
Although Auburn won 5-0, Coach Hoppa was displeased with the shot-to-goal ratio.
“We have got to do better with our finishing percentage,” said Coach Hoppa. “Not acceptable to have 49 shots and 18 shots on frame and score 5 goals.
"Credit to their goalkeeper, she played an outstanding game. We have to be better at our shot selection and on our frame percentage."
The Tigers take the field next to face off against No.1 Florida State (6-0-0) at 2 P.M. on Sunday at the Auburn Soccer Complex.
