COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – The Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles soccer team faced off against a dominant opponent in Auburn Friday night to open up the regular season of play for this athletic year. Tech shouldered a tough 4-0 loss from the SEC powerhouse as Auburn put the Golden Eagle defense to the test.
Auburn grabbed a quick lead from Tech in the third minute of play when Katy Frierson caught freshman goalkeeper Becca Toler off the line and netted an upper 90 shot to give the Tigers a 1-0 lead and log her 15th career goal.
The Tigers didn’t let up after taking the early lead, as Mary Coffed made a run up field in the 22nd minute of the match to take control of a loose ball that Toler couldn’t get her hands on.
The Golden Eagles held the Tigers to a 2-0 lead until the 58th minute of the game, when Ashley Marks got her head on a corner kick by Coffed to give the Tigers the 3-0 lead, and Monica Affandor contributed the final goal for the Tigers, with the assist going to Frierson.
While the Tech offense found it difficult to penetrate the AU defense, logging just one shot on the day in the second half of the contest, the Golden Eagle defense gained valuable experience in facing the Tigers.
Toler and her defense would be peppered with 33 shots on the game from Auburn. The freshman keeper made nine saves in total to hold to the Tigers to a four-goal victory.
“It’s good for our defense to go up against a dominant offense like Auburn’s,” said head coach Daniel Brizard. “It gives us an opportunity to locate our areas for improvement and will prepare us for a challenging OVC schedule.
“The opportunity to match up with Auburn was something that we couldn’t turn down,” Brizard continued. “The atmosphere that surrounds a game like tonights is something that our ladies need to experience to develop mentally as a team for the upcoming season.”
Tech will see a quick turnaround on competition this weekend as they will head to Chattanooga on Sunday for a 1 p.m. game against the Mocs before returning to Cookeville Sunday night.
