Aug. 17, 2017
No. 10 Auburn vs. South Alabama
(17-7-0, 2016 RECORD) vs. (15-6-1, 2016 RECORD)
Match
| Friday, Aug. 18 | 6:30 p.m. | |
| Auburn vs. South Alabama | ||
AUBURN, Ala. -- The No. 10 Auburn soccer team kicks off the 2017 athletics season when it plays host to South Alabama Friday night. Kickoff is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. at the Auburn Soccer Complex.
The season opener is set to be streamed on SEC Network+ with Andy Burcham and Mac Matthews on the call. The match can also be heard on the radio at 91.1 WEGL.
Following its tilt with the Jaguars, Auburn hosts Lipscomb for a 6 p.m. kick Sunday evening at the Auburn Soccer Complex.
Promotions
Shakers for the first 250 fans
Poster giveaway for the first 200 fans
Starting XI
No. 10 Auburn opens its 2017 campaign against in-state foe South Alabama Friday night at the Auburn Soccer Complex.
The Tigers hold a 12-1-0 advantage in the all-time series and have won the last 11 tilts dating back to 1995.
Auburn was picked to finish sixth by the SEC coaches in the annual preseason poll. The Tigers trail Florida, Texas A&M, South Carolina, Missouri and Arkansas in the poll.
Auburn set a program record with 17 wins a season ago and reached the NCAA Quarterfinals for the first time in team history.
Seniors Kristen Dodson and Courtney Schell were joined by junior Sarah Le Beau and sophomore Bri Folds as honorees on the SEC Preseason Watch List.
Auburn is 15-6-3 all-time in season openers and has gone 18-4-2 in its first match on home turf.
The Tigers have not lost a season opener to a team from the state of Alabama. All-time, Auburn is 5-0-1 against teams inside the border to open a campaign.
Auburn is 32-13-3 all-time in the month of August. In that span, the Tigers have outscored the opposition 100-42 and average 2.1 goals per game.
The Tigers boast 19 underclassmen on their roster this season, including 12 freshmen. In contrast, Auburn touts 10 upperclassmen with six seniors leading the charge.
Head coach Karen Hoppa has coached 15 winning seasons at Auburn with nine of them being 12-win seasons.
Senior midfielder Courtney Schell and junior goalkeeper Sarah Le Beau were voted the team captains and will wear the "C" armbands throughout the season.
Player to Watch: Courtney Schell
Leading the midfield into the contest, Courtney Schell will don the captain's armband for the first time in her career. The box-to-box midfielder has logged over 5,000 minutes on the pitch and has contributed 29 career points while playing in her deeper midfield role. Schell elevated Auburn to its first win of 2016 when she headed in a corner in double overtime at South Alabama.
Exhibition Wraps
Auburn recently completed two exhibition matches against Georgia and Samford last weekend. The Tigers took both decisions, winning in Athens by a score of 3-2 and at home against the Bulldogs by a score of 2-0.
Four players found the back of the net for Auburn. Kristen Dodson netted two goals, while Katie Hickman, Ellie Leek and Alyssa Malonson scored a goal.
Over 20 players saw action on the pitch, including 13 who suited up for the first time as Tigers.
Welcome New Experience
The Tigers welcome an experienced back line player in Caroline Bado, a graduate transfer from UCF.
Bado appeared in 60 matches, earning 49 starts for the Golden Knights. She scored one goal and had three assists in her four seasons.
Bado brings a championship pedigree to The Plains, having won two American Athletic Conference titles in 2013 and 2014. The senior has also appeared in the NCAA Tournament in three of her campaigns with the Golden Knights.
The Tampa, Fla. native captained a back line that had 30 shutouts in her tenure and held opponents to average just 0.78 goals per game in that span.
Approaching 150-plus Wins
The Auburn Soccer Complex has hosted a bevy of victories, 148 in fact, in its existence. That mark currently sits in third in the nation for home victories in the same stadium. The Tigers trail only Stanford (275) and Rutgers (161) for most victories inside one stadium.