AUBURN, Ala. (EETV) - Auburn soccer (4-0-3) capped off a rainy night at the Auburn Soccer Complex against UMass Lowell (2-4-1) with a dominant 4-1 win on "Pups on the Pitch" night.
The Tigers started off hot, scoring only 7 minutes into the match as Sydney Richards sent a ball in the back of the net from a beautiful shot that squeezed between the keeper and the right post.
It did not take long for the Tigers to add another as Grace Sklopan netted her first goal of the season, assisted by Anna Haddock, who continues to have an impressive season.
In the 43rd minute, Maddie Simpson decided she wanted in on the action as she put one in the back of the net.
Going into the half, Auburn had a commanding 3-0 lead over the Umass Lowell squad. The "Pups" were out, and there were still fans in the stands, so it was time for the Tigers to keep it going in the second half.
Shortly after the break, the Auburn Tigers took to the pitch and showed no signs of slowing down. Junior Olivia Candelino scored off a rebound created by a shot from Simpson.
Umass Lowell's Ioanna Papatheodorou managed to get one goal back in the 47th minute. This is the first open play goal Maddie Prohaska and the Tiger have allowed this year; however, it was not enough to push past a convincing Auburn performance.
Simpson and Haddock led the team with five shots a piece in a dominating twenty-five shot performance. The Tigers now seem to be back on the right track offensively after a couple of games where it felt there was a lot left on the field.
Coach Karen Hoppa seemed to be pleased with the performance, as this is what she had to say about the performance, "Wrapped up our home non-conference season with a much-needed win against a really good team." Hoppa added, "It's also great to see us get multiple goals from multiple goal-scorers. That's something we've been wanting to do, and we got it today. Really happy with our overall performance."
The Tigers will look to extend this run of form by heading to well-known foe Samford. Sydney Richards considers the matchup one for revenge after being knocked out of the first round of the 2021 NCAA tournament.
"Oh, I'm ready. It's time for some revenge. I think we could've played a lot better when we played the last time, and I know we can do a lot better this time," said Richards.
Auburn will seek revenge against Samford as they travel to Birmingham, Alabama, to wrap up their non-conference play this Sunday, September 11, at 5 p.m. CT.
