Kara Karsten and Jenni Prescott scored goals as Auburn beat Belmont 2-0 Friday in the first round of the NCAA Tournament at the Auburn Soccer Complex.
The Tigers advance to play Florida State, a 7-0 winner over Mississippi Valley State on Sunday. The winner moves on the the final 16.
"Coming out hard and getting an early goal was key because it forced Belmont to come out and play a little bit more and get a few more numbers forward," Auburn coach Karen Hoppa said. "That helped stretch the game to give us a little more space to be more possessive and play the style that we wanted to play."
Belmont did not seriously threaten to score against the Tigers (12-8-2). All-SEC goalkeeper Allison Whitworth was called on to make just one save.
"The girls played a great game," Hoppa said. "It is fantastic to get the first NCAA win for all of these players. All of these players did what they needed to do to win the game. They scored a couple of goals and got really good possession and played really good soccer. I know they are excited to be down to the final 32 teams in the country."
Auburn and Florida State, the region's No. 2 seed, play at the Auburn Soccer Complex at 2 p.m. on Sunday.
