AUBURN, Ala. — Olivia Woodson’s 49th-minute game-winner was all No. 13 Auburn needed to walk out victorious as the Tigers handed No. 17 Ohio State its first loss of the season Sunday afternoon in a 1-0 battle at the Auburn Soccer Complex.
“I knew in the moment that it was my one chance to put it past a really good goalkeeper, so I had to take advantage of it,” Woodson said.
The Tigers improve to 7-0-0, the best start to a season since 2018. Auburn’s defense has yet to give up a goal in 630 minutes of play, which sets a new school record for consecutive clean sheets.
“A huge test, and it was great to pass it,” Tigers head coach Karen Hoppa said. “Ohio State is a really good team that’s going to win a lot of games. We’ve had a lot of great results, but not enough against ranked teams, so it’s great for us to get this win and prove to ourselves that we are capable of anything if we work hard enough for it.”
With the victory, Auburn picks up its second top-25 win of the season, the most since 2017.
Senior Maddie Prohaska nabbed the 31st shutout of her career, placing her in a tie for fifth in Southeastern Conference history with South Carolina’s Mollie Patton.
“This team really put in a strong, full 90-minute performance today against a top 20 team,” Prohaska said. “I’m grateful I didn’t have a lot of work to do today, but that’s because my defense was phenomenal.”
Auburn dominated the first 45 minutes of the match, outshooting the Buckeyes 8-0 while also creating four attacking corner kicks.
Four minutes into the second period, Woodson drew a yellow card on a bad tackle from an Ohio State defender, granting the Tigers a free kick 20 yards from the top of the box. Senior Anna Haddock served the set piece into a mix of bodies that knocked the ball to senior Becky Contreras, who then flicked the ball on to Woodson, who used a one-time finish to place a laser of a shot into the near post upper 90.
For Woodson, it was her sixth goal of the season and her third of the week after dropping two on Samford Thursday. Contreras earned the seventh assist of her career on the play.
Overall, Auburn created 14 looks, including five on goal. Ohio State got off eight shots, all in the second half, none of which were on frame.
Up next, Auburn stays home to wrap up its nonconference slate with Old Dominion on Friday, Sept. 13. Kickoff is slated for 6:30 p.m. CT. Following the match, a 10-minute fireworks show will ensue.