Offensive explosion leads Auburn soccer to win over Jax State

Box Score Box Score (PDF)
by Riley Hubbard
Two athletes in white jerseys with "Auburn" branding celebrate on a green field at night, with one leaping joyfully and another reaching out to join in the celebration.Two athletes in white jerseys with "Auburn" branding celebrate on a green field at night, with one leaping joyfully and another reaching out to join in the celebration.
Addi Ray/Auburn Tigers
Box Score

AUBURN, Ala. – A brace from Hannah Bell in just her second game on the Plains led the Auburn soccer offense in a 5-0 victory over Jacksonville State on Sunday evening at the Auburn Soccer Complex. In addition to Bell’s two goals and an early score from Dylan Driver, Fizz Hutton and Chloe Taylor each recorded their first career goals in the one-sided victory.

“I saw a top-team performance tonight,” Auburn head coach James Armstrong said after the game. “Everybody that was available to play played tonight, and I think a lot of those players took the opportunity to show what they’ve got. We didn’t go as deep against Clemson, so it was really important to rest some of our key players. Jacksonville State is a really possession-oriented team, so to score five goals and concede zero is something we’ll take for our first win of the season.”

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Auburn dominated possession on Sunday, outshooting Jacksonville State 23-4. Of those 23 shots, the Tigers put 11 on target.

Auburn fifth-year Dylan Driver got the scoring started in the 14th minute, breaking away to force Raegan Whitaker into a one-on-one situation before finding the back of the net with her left foot. The goal marked the ninth of Driver’s career and gave the Tigers an early 1-0 lead.

In the 37th minute, Bell picked up her first goal as an Auburn Tiger, following up on a blocked shot and scoring. Just minutes later, Bell scored again in the 43rd minute for her second goal of the game. Freshman Emma Musick recorded her first collegiate point on the play, earning an assist on Bell’s goal.

“Honestly, it was so shocking,” Bell said about scoring twice on Sunday. “I worked hard to get to the position that I’m in, and I thank God for giving me the ability to score goals tonight. The first goal, I was just there to follow up, and it turned into a goal. On the second one, I really wanted that ball and knew I had an opportunity to score.”

The Auburn senior’s brace marks the 97th in program history and the first since Erin Flurey scored a pair against FGCU on Sept. 7.

Hutton continued the scoring to open the second half, taking a long-distance shot in the 57th minute that struck the crossbar and bounced into the net to give the Tigers a 4-0 advantage. In the 69th minute, freshman Chloe Taylor recorded her first goal of the season, finding the upper corner to give Auburn a 5-0 advantage.

The win gives Auburn its first victory of the young season and improves its record to 1-0-1, while Jacksonville State falls to 0-1-1. The Tigers are now 6-2-0 in the all-time series against the Gamecocks.

Auburn will stay at home for its third and final game of the season-opening homestand Thursday evening against Southern Illinois. The match is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. CT, and fans in attendance will receive a free Auburn soccer bucket hat while supplies last.

The game will be streamed on SEC Network+, while radio coverage will be available terrestrially on WEGL 91.1 and via streaming at AuburnTigers.com. Live stats will also be available at AuburnTigers.com.