Auburn, Ala. (EETV) – Auburn Soccer hosted Florida Gulf Coast Sunday afternoon, defeating the Eagles 5-0 to round out the Tigers’ non-conference schedule. The Tigers will head into SEC play 4-2-1 as Erin Flurey secured her second multi-goal game of the season and Ayana Yapo got her fourth clean sheet of the season.
Auburn did not waste any time getting active in the offensive half, as there were six shots in the first 14 minutes and four on goal. Auburn’s first goal of the game would come off the foot of Flurey in the 15th minute, as she took a pass from Jordyn Crosby outside the 18 and put it in the top right corner of the net, just past the arms of FGCU’s Madara Matrevica.
Erin Flurey would follow up that long goal with a simpler one just a couple minutes later in the 17th. The second goal came via a penalty as FGCU’s Lily Borders hit the ball with her hand on the right side of the box. That penalty for the Syracuse transfer marked her seventh score of the season, giving her a five-goal lead over the next-closest Tiger.
Auburn’s final goal of the half would come off a gorgeous header from Taylor Chism as she put it into the top right of the net on Auburn’s fourth corner kick of the half.
The second half was much slower for both teams, as each side struggled to maintain possession for the first ten minutes. As the second half went on, Auburn started playing more conservative, with FGCU’s first shot of six coming in the 55th minute.
However, Auburn’s offense wasn’t finished with just three goals. Dylan Driver recorded her first goal of the season in the 66th minute off another assist by Crosby. The Tigers would close out scoring action soon after as Ava Caldwell snuck the ball under the crossbar for her first goal of the season.
Following the win, Auburn head coach James Armstrong focused on what he wanted to see from his team before Auburn begins SEC play against Ole Miss on Friday.
“For us right now, it’s all about how we can continue to get better each day, each game,’’ Armstrong said.
Armstrong and the Tigers will look to get better this week before they travel to Oxford to start SEC play against Ole Miss. That game will be at 7:00 p.m. CDT and will be broadcast on SECN+.
