Aug. 28, 2009
AUBURN, Ala. - Amy Howard made 11 saves and Caitlin King scored her 11th career goal as Auburn played to a 1-1 draw with Dayton in Auburn's home-opener on Friday night.
After not finding many opportunities during the first 20 minutes, Auburn turned up the heat in the second part of the first half with King's first goal of the season being the end result. King, who played sparingly last season due to a leg injury, netted her first goal since the 2007 season in the 27th minute when she played a through ball from Katy Frierson to the left side of the net, beating Dayton goalkeeper Katherine Boone.
"With the three back that we were playing against, we were trying to make a lot of combinations with the midfield. Katy (Frierson) played a great ball to me and I saw the opening and tried to keep my composure and place it in the back of the net," King said.
The two teams traded missed opportunities for the rest of the first half as Auburn took the one-goal lead into the intermission.
"I am a little frustrated. We didn't play our best the whole game. Obviously Caitlin scored a great goal but we should have done more. We should have gotten some better chances and we should have scored," Auburn Head Coach Karen Hoppa said.
Jerica DeWolfe evened the score at 1-1 in the 58th minute when Mandi Back found the forward open on a breakaway for her first goal of the season.
DeWolfe's shot was the only one to get past Howard, the reigning SEC Freshman of the Week. After posting a shutout in the season-opener while facing just five shots, Howard saw much more action on Friday night as Dayton fired off 22 shots, forcing the Louisiana native into 11 saves.
Auburn, which is ranked No. 25 by Top Drawer Soccer, was just as aggressive in its' attacking third as the team ripped 19 shots on the night with Boone making five saves.
The tie was the second straight for Auburn, which is 0-0-2 on the season and played in a pair of overtimes game to start a season for the second time in the last three years, also doing it in 2007.
Dayton is now 1-0-1.
King's last goal came in the first round of the 2007 NCAA Tournament, a 3-1 loss to Central Florida.
Frierson's assist gives her 26 career points in just 23 games.
Auburn returns to the field on Sunday when it plays host to South Alabama at 2pm at the Auburn Soccer Complex. Admission is free.