Aug. 26, 2011
AUBURN, Ala. - Mary Coffed scored two goals and assisted on a third, all in the first half, as Auburn blitzed Middle Tennessee State, 4-1, in soccer action on Friday night at the Auburn Soccer Complex. Coffed scored twice in the first 24 minutes of the match and then served in a corner kick in with five seconds remaining in the half to Julie King as Auburn improved to 1-1-0.
"We started the game great," Auburn Head Coach Karen Hoppa said. "Being able to get a goal four minutes into the game sets the tone, and that was an objective for us in the pregame. We wanted a fast start and accomplishing that we were able to build momentum from there."
Coffed, who scored just seven goals in her first two seasons combined, set the tone early as she finished off a Tatiana Coleman cross inside the six for a quick 1-0 lead. The goal came on the first shot of the match for either team while giving Coleman her second assist of the season.
Just under 20 minutes later it was Coffed again finding the back of the net, this time using her speed to split a pair of MTSU (1-2-0) defenders just outside the 18. The midfielder slotted a shot just inside the post to MTSU goalkeeper Rebecca Cushing's left at the 23:59 mark.
"One of our biggest goals tonight was to work on our finishing," Coffed said. "To be able to get four goals tonight, two from myself, was huge and a great start to the season."
Coffed wasn't done inflicting her damage on the MTSU defense as she served in a corner with the final 10 seconds ticking off the first half clock. Her service found the head of a leaping Julie King, who headed it off for her first goal of the season and the eighth of her career, giving Auburn a 3-0 advantage.
Mary Nicholson's first career goal finished off the scoring for Auburn in the 72nd minute. Again it was a corner that created to scoring chance as Katy Frierson served it into the box. King again put a head on it but it was Nicholson who gathered the loose ball and directed it past Cushing.
"Katy had a really good service and Julie usually gets the first ball," Nicholson said. "I got a read off of what she did and I just jumped and hit it in."
Auburn dominated the shot totals, firing off 16 shots while its defense held MTSU to just six, only three of which went on frame compared to Auburn's 12.
Auburn also controlled the touches down near the end lines, creating nine corners for itself while holding MTSU to just five.
MTSU avoided the shutout in the 89th minute with an Allison Stallard goal from 35 yards out.
Auburn returns to the field on Sunday at 7pm when it plays host to Kennesaw State.
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