AUBURN, Ala. – The Auburn soccer team used a lock-down defensive effort combined with an onslaught of offensive attacks to cruise past Southern Miss, 9-0, on Sunday at the Auburn Soccer Complex.
The nine goals scored by the Tigers tie the second-highest total in program history and are the most since defeating Grambling State, 9-0, in 2008.
"What I really liked was us getting that third goal before halftime," Tigers head coach Karen Hoppa said. "That third goal is really what puts a team away. That allowed us to approach the second half with the ability to play a lot of people, rest the starters and get some invaluable experience for our young players."
On the defensive side of the ball, junior Maddie Prohaska picked up her second clean sheet of the early season, locking down the 15th shutout of her career. The West Chester, Ohio native also recorded two saves in the contest.
Auburn's pair of shutouts to open the season are the most since 2015, when the Tigers recorded six-straight to begin the year 6-0.
As for the Orange & Blue offense, its nine goals came via eight different goal-scorers. Graduate student Sabrina McNeill led the way with a brace. Two Tigers, junior Hannah Waesch and freshman Olivia Fout, each picked up a pair of assists in the matchup.
The offensive downpour began early as the Tigers did not take long to find the back of the net. In the eighth minute, junior Maddie Simpson laced a bullet into the right upper 90 off the right foot following an Auburn free kick. The goal was the first for Simpson since the 2020-21 season.
Auburn doubled its lead in the 34th minute as junior Anna Haddock took advantage of a pass from redshirt-junior Marissa Arias, using a left-footer to sneak a shot inside the right post. The goal marks the second for Haddock in as many games, and the assist from Arias is her first of the year.
The Tigers would take a 3-0 lead into the second half after sophomore Carly Thatcher ripped off a deep shot from outside the right corner of the penalty box. Waesch picked up the assist on the play.
Just four minutes into the second half, freshman Hayden Colson pushed the Auburn lead to four with her first career goal in a Tiger uniform. The goal came via a corner kick from Waesch, which was then headed by senior Sydney Richards to find Colson at the center of the goal box.
The fifth Auburn goal of the afternoon came in the 61st minute as Haddock headed a ball off the right post that found graduate student Sabrina McNeill for an easy chip shot off the right foot. The goal was the first for McNeill as a Tiger and the 28th of her career, dating back to her days at Eastern Michigan.
McNeill picked up No. 29 just eight minutes later with a header off a 90-degree cross from the endline via freshman Olivia Fout. The assist from Fout came in only the third minute of her collegiate debut.
Another Tiger got in on the history-making action in the 71st minute as senior Brooke Berdan scored her first collegiate goal, converting a penalty kick into a strike that found the lower left corner.
Auburn's penultimate goal came in the 73rd minute from its seventh different scorer, sophomore Sydnie Thibodaux. Thibodaux used a pass from Fout to unleash a laser from the outside edge of the penalty arc that found the right side of the net.
Senior Hailey Whitaker issued the ninth and final blow of the afternoon, capitalizing on a horizontal pass from freshman Erin Houston to cross up the Southern Miss goalkeeper and find the back of the net once more. The goal was the first for Whitaker in two seasons.
Up next, the Tigers will hit the road for a two-game swing, first at the home of the defending national champions, No. 1 Florida State on Thursday, Aug. 25 followed by a matchup at Wake Forest on Sunday, Aug. 28. Auburn's bout with the Seminoles will kick off at 5 p.m. CT live on the ACC Network.