AUBURN, Ala. – Thanks to a clutch header that found the back of the net from graduate student M.E. Craven, No. 11 Auburn soccer (3-0-3) continued its unbeaten run to start the year with a 1-0 victory over Army (1-3-2) Sunday at the Auburn Soccer Complex.
"It was good to get a result," Tigers head coach Karen Hoppa said. "That's a really tough team to play. As we expected, they're really disciplined, and they play really hard. I don't think we played particularly well, but it was nice that we were able to come out on top even when we didn't play our best."
The difference-maker came in the 29th minute after midfielder Anna Haddock took the Auburn corner kick, finding Craven in the middle of the six-yard box for the header past the left post. Craven's game-winner is the third of her career and her fourth goal within the last two seasons.
"It's always exciting when a defender scores," Craven said. "To be able to help us finally get one in and break our tie streak meant a lot to me and the team."
Picking up the assist on the play, Haddock tallied her third of the year, matching senior Sydney Richards for the team lead. Haddock and Richards both took a trio of shots in the matchup to lead the Orange & Blue offense.
The Tigers saw 17 shots via nine different players in the outing, however, open chances were hard to come by as the Black Knight defense held Auburn to just a pair of shots on-goal. Auburn's defense returned the favor, only conceding six total shots, two on-goal, to Army's attackers.
"Our defense has been communicating well and trusting in each other and covering for each other," Craven said, "so when one of us makes a mistake, the others step up. Today, it was a great feeling for the defense to keep playing strong and us be able to pull out the win."
With the shutout victory, the Tigers continue their streak of zero goals allowed in the run of play this season, the best tally in program history since 2015 when Auburn began the year 6-0 with an 11-0 scoring differential.
Dazzling in her 18th career clean sheet, goalkeeper Maddie Prohaska recorded back-to-back-to-back shutouts for the second time in her tenure. Prohaska was put the test early, facing a shot from Army's Dara Murray, attempting to tuck a strike past the right post, but the West Chester, Ohio product laid out for the save, keeping Black Knights off the board.
In the program record books, Prohaska now ranks seventh in career saves (151), fifth in shutouts (19), and second in goals against average (0.89)
Auburn will complete its three-game homestand with a match against UMass Lowell Thursday, Sept. 8 at the Auburn Soccer Complex. Kickoff is slated for 6:30 p.m. CT.