AUBURN, Ala. - The Florida Gulf Coast University women's soccer team dropped a 5-0 decision on the road to Auburn on Sunday afternoon. The Eagles' record fell to 2-3-1 on the season. It was FGCU's third match of the year against an SEC opponent, a first in program history in regular season play.
The FGCU defense held strong in the early going. Auburn took five shots, four of which were on goal, in the first nine minutes of the match. Eagles' goalkeeper
Madara Matrevica was up to the task each time, marking the freshman's least amount of time needed to reach four saves in a single match.
The Tigers broke through in the 16th minute, however, on a right-footed finish by Erin Flurey. Three minutes later, Auburn was awarded a penalty kick as a result of an FGCU handball in the 18-yard box. Flurey scored her second goal in quick succession to give the Tigers a 2-0 lead. Between those tallies, Matrevica made her fifth save, setting a career high for most stops in a half. In the 38th minute, the Latvian international stonewalled her sixth shot, which equaled her best mark in an entire match. Matrevica also had six in a scoreless draw against FIU on Aug. 31.
Auburn added one more goal before the end of the first period and went into halftime with a 3-0 lead.
In the second half, FGCU turned to
Danyelle Dorn in goal, another freshman who made her second career appearance. The Davie, Fla. native's first came in the Eagles' season-opening 6-0 win over Webber International. Dorn made the first three saves of her career across the final 45 minutes against Auburn, while the Tigers tacked on two more goals to claim a 5-0 win. The Green and Blue finished with three shots on goal, all of them coming in the second frame. Senior
Erika Zschuppe, the Atlantic Sun Conference Preseason Player of the Year, notched two, and
Lily Borders added one.
Florida Gulf Coast (2-3-1, 0-0-0 ASUN) returns to action and to Pickering Field Thursday at 7 p.m. when it hosts Grambling. The Eagles have not played at home since an Aug. 21st match against LSU, exactly three weeks before their meeting with Grambling.
