AUBURN, Ala. – Freshman Sydney Richards turned in the first two goals of her Auburn career to lead the Tigers past Troy, 3-0, Sunday evening at the Auburn Soccer Complex.
Richards joined Sarah Houchin as the two Auburn players to record a brace this season, both coming as the first two goals of their careers.
Bri Folds added a goal on a penalty kick and matched a program record with a goal in four straight contests. Hailey Whitaker, Jaelyn Gadson and Caroline Peterson also got on the scoreboard as each chipped in with an assist.
"We were really happy with the first half," head coach Karen Hoppa said. "We wanted to pick up where we left off Thursday, and the first half was tremendous. We got two great goals by Sydney Richards, so we're really happy to get her on the board as well."
Richards wasted no time in getting on the Tigers (3-2-0) on the scoreboard and she played a beautiful volley out of the air off her right foot and into the back of the net in the fifth minute. Whitaker played a pass from the far corner towards midfielder and Gadson served the volley into the box to find the streak Richards.
The Plano, Texas, native doubled the Tigers' advantage as she hit a strike with the right foot from 25 yards out and put it into the left upper 90 in the 27th minute. Peterson stepped in front of a Troy pass and played it off to Richards for the assist.
"Being a freshman and coming out there hitting two really nice goals in the first half to get the good start to the game felt really good," Richards said. "It feels really good because I've been waiting to get into it this season coming off the preseason. It felt really good to finally have the production I wanted."
Five minutes later, Auburn drew a foul inside the 18-yard box, and Bri Folds stepped up to the mark to convert the penalty kick and extend the lead to 3-0. With the goal, Folds became the ninth player in program history and first player since 2016 to score in four consecutive contests.
Auburn ultimately outshot Troy 18-4 and put 11 shots on frame compared to the Trojan's two. Richards led the way with a season-high six shots, including four on goal.
A season-high 20 players saw action in the match, including 17 who played 25 or more minutes.
The Tigers shutout was the team's second straight and third of the season. It marks the first time Auburn turned in back-to-back shutouts since October of last season.
Auburn concludes its homestand with a pair of matches next weekend, starting with a contest against Southern Miss Friday at 6:30 p.m.