Oct. 14, 2007
AUBURN, Ala. -
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After scoring the game-winning goal on Friday night in her first career start, sophomore Stephanie Fransoso chipped in in a different way on Sunday, collecting the first assist on both of Auburn's goals as the Auburn soccer team defeated Arkansas, 2-0, for its third consecutive shutout.
"We are really happy with the results of this weekend and how we are playing right now," Auburn Head Coach Karen Hoppa said.
Junior Kara Kasten collected her third goal of the season, and second game-winner this year, just over 13 minutes into the contest as she streaked in uncovered towards the top of the 18 and drilled a shot to the lower right corner for a 1-0 Auburn (9-3-1, 5-1-0 SEC) lead. Sophomore Rebecca Howell had controlled the ball at the top of the 18 and passed laterally to Fransoso, who had two defenders on her back before slipping the ball back to Kasten.
"We played real hard and finished off the weekend strong," Kasten said. "It was good to get a couple of goals to keep the pressure off a little bit."
With Auburn's defense clamping down on the Arkansas (8-6-1, 1-4-1) offense, Howell, who had scored in Friday night's win over No. 19 LSU, gave Auburn a seemingly insurmountable lead with her sixth goal of the season in the 58th minute. Caitlin King got the ball to Fransoso on the near sideline to start the scoring play. With a pair of defenders closing in on her, Fransoso slipped the ball to Howell, who was inside the six and put it just inside the near post for a 2-0 lead.
Auburn limited Arkansas to just six shots on the afternoon while tallying 16 of its own.
Junior goalkeeper Allison Whitworth was forced to make two saves in the match for her seventh shutout this season and 13th of her career. She becomes just the third keeper in Auburn history to record at least seven shutouts in a season and is second all-time on the career shutouts list.
With her second assist on Howell's goal, King has now collected eight helpers on the season and 13 for her career. Her eight assists this season ranks in a four-way tie for seventh all-time at Auburn while her 13 career assists puts her in a three-way tie for ninth.
Auburn will be on the road for its next two contests, traveling to Florida for a 7pm ET match on Friday, Oct. 19, and then heading to South Carolina for a 2pm ET match on Sunday, Oct. 21.