Auburn soccer upsets No. 5 Clemson to start 2024 regular season
Auburn soccer started its regular season with a bang Thursday night, scoring a lopsided win over No. 5 Clemson.
It was four bangs to be exact as Auburn beat the opposing Tigers 4-0 at the Auburn Soccer Complex.
Erin Houston got things started for Auburn, forcing a Clemson own goal two open the scoring after just two minutes and 49 seconds. She put a dangerous ball in the box after cutting inside, and a deflection from a sliding Clemson defender redirected it into the goal.
Auburn kept the pressure on for the remainder of the first half until the second goal came with just under 17 minutes remaining in the half.
Mallory Mooney played a line-splitting pass that got through Clemson’s back line before landing at the feet of Dylan Driver. Facing a one-on-one with the Clemson goalkeeper, Driver calmly sliding the ball in the bottom corner at the near post.
Auburn had control of the game by that point, but what felt like the dagger came just over seven minutes into the second half.
After intercepting a Clemson pass just inside her own half, Olivia Woodson ran through the Clemson defense all by herself before ripping a shot from the top of the box.
The shot took a deflection off the goalkeeper’s fingertips but found its way into the bottom corner to give Auburn a 3-0 lead.
The final goal came around 13 minutes later when Becky Contreras capitalized off an assist from Anna Haddock to make it 4-0.
The win makes Auburn 1-0 to start the regular season after losing preseason exhibitions to Memphis and Mercer.
Auburn soccer returns next Thursday with another home game against Southern Miss. Kickoff is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. at the Auburn Soccer Complex.