AUBURN, Ala. – Head coach Karen Hoppa earned her 250th win on the Auburn sideline as the Tiges defeated Georgia, 1-0, Saturday at the Auburn Soccer Complex.
Hoppa, who now has 314 wins as a Division I head coach, marked off another milestone while the Tigers turned in the third shutout in four contests this spring. The match also marked the team's third win against Georgia this season.
"It's really hard to beat a team twice in the same season when you don't play that type of schedule, and so to do it three times, I can't remember a time in my career we've done that," head coach Karen Hoppa said. "The girls really rallied around that idea of getting a hat trick in a season, and I told them this is probably the only chance they'll ever have in their careers. So they were definitely fired up about that."
Olivia Candelino took care of the scoring in the contest for the Tigers as her goal in the 62nd minute proved to be the difference. The goal was Candelino's second of the spring, and Madeline Moore recorded her first career point with an assist on the play.
"Yeah, it feels awesome to finally get that rewarding win, because that's what we work towards is all three points," Candelino said. "When we fall short, it's just like we go back to practice, keep working and make sure we're ready for the weekend."
Auburn nearly broke into the scoring on a pair of chances in the later stages of the first half. Maddie Simpson rose up and won a header inside the 18 and Olivia Dedels attempted a shot far post, but Georgia goalkeeper Emory Wegener made a pair of saves on the chances to keep the match scoreless at halftime.
After a lively start by the home team in the second half, Candelino got the Tigers on the board with her team best second goal of the spring. Moore won possession in the Tigers' attacking half and played to Candelino, who was one-on-one with the Georgia center back. The freshman forward beat the Bulldog defender on the half turn and struck a bullet inside the upper 90.
"What a goal by Olivia Candelino. Holy cow," Hoppa said. "That was a tremendous goal really created and produced by two freshmen."
"I was really advantageous of that space because that defender was really good," Candelino added. "I had that little opening, I saw it and I shot. It was just a really good team win."
The goal was all Auburn's back line and freshman goalkeeper Maddie Prohaska needed as the Tigers turned in the sixth shutout of the season. The clean sheet marked Prohaska's fifth solo shutout of the season, and the freshman goalkeeper lowered her goals against average to 0.89.
"It was really gritty performance and great job by our defense and Maddie Prohaska," Hoppa added. "She was frustrated with the goal she gave up last weekend and she put in the work this week in practice. They got in behind our backs more times than I would want as a coach, But Prohaska was ready for that task every single time."
As Georgia fought for the equalizer in the final 28 minutes of the match, Prohaska continued to control her box and made a pair of key saves in the closing minutes.
Eighteen Tigers saw action in the contest, including four who played all 90 minutes.
Auburn put six of the team's seven shots on goal, led by a pair from Hailey Whitaker.
The Tigers spring season continues with back-to-back road contests at Louisville on Mar. 20 and against archrival Alabama on Mar. 27.
Hoppa earns 250th Auburn win as Tigers defeat Georgia
