AUBURN, Ala. — Auburn soccer opened its spring exhibition slate Saturday with a 4-1 victory over Kennesaw State at the Auburn Soccer Complex.
"I thought we really played hard," Tigers head coach Karen Hoppa said. "We got a lot of new players minutes and I thought they were clicking and creating a ton of chances.
Freshman Dylan Driver bookended the Tigers' offensive efforts with a goal in the 31st minute to open the scoring before adding on the fourth and final goal in minute 68.
"Today definitely felt good," Driver said. "This was really my first time competing at the collegiate level and so I went out with the mentality that I wanted to make the most of it. I was giving it my all every play and doing whatever I could to create opportunities, and at the end of the day, I got on the end of two, so that was really, really fun."
Offensively, Auburn outshot KSU 23-8, capitalizing on 10 on-net opportunities. In addition to Driver, sophomore LJ Knox and junior Anna Haddock also found the score column. Other significant pieces in the attack were senior Sydney Richards and sophomore Carly Thatcher as the duo combined for seven shots on the Owl defense.
On the defensive end of the ball, the Tigers held their opponent scoreless for 85 minutes before Kennesaw State was able to sneak one in, breaking the clean sheet in the 86th minute. Junior Maddie Prohaska was in-net for the opening 45 minutes of the match, making one save on a lone shot faced. Freshman Taylor Richards would get the call to start the second half and collected four saves on five strikes from the opposing attack.
"Looking to the next matchup, we want to be more detail-oriented on defending those set pieces, and I think we can be more effective in the final third. We created so many chances, but we only scored on four, so I know we can still do better."
To break the scoreless tie, Driver caught a deflection off the KSU keeper following a rocket from sophomore Haley Duca in minute 31. The Macon, Georgia native capitalized on a quick tap-in near right post for the first unofficial goal of her collegiate career.
Doubling the Orange & Blue lead in the 51st minute was Knox. The defender utilized a strong set piece from Duca on a corner kick to smash a header into the low left-hand corner of the net.
Auburn's usual offensive juggernaut accounted for goal No. 3 on the day after Thatcher made a great press on the Kennesaw back line, allowing Haddock to intercept the ball and hit it home.
"We've been working a lot on the press, so we really want to step up when teams are keeping it in the back," Haddock said. "Carly did a great job initiating that and luckily, the other team made a mistake, so we were able to capitalize on it."
Driver struck once more in the 68th minute, collecting a driven ball across the face of the net from junior Mallory Mooney, touching in her second goal of the afternoon to record the brace.
Auburn continues its spring exhibition slate Saturday, March 25, facing off against Georgia at 1 p.m. CT in another home showdown.