AUBURN, Ala. – With four regular season matches remaining, Auburn (10-3-1, 2-3-1 SEC) travels to Columbia, Missouri, to take on Missouri (5-7-2, 2-3-1 SEC) in an important conference contest Sunday at 2 p.m. CT at Audrey J. Walton Soccer Stadium.
The match will be broadcast nationally on SEC Network, and Trey Bender and Lori Lindsey will have the call from the broadcast booth.
Starting XI
The Tigers eight shutouts this season are tied for the sixth most in a single-season in program history and their 42 assists are ninth all-time. The team needs just one goal and two points to also crack the single-season top-10.
Head coach Karen Hoppa is one victory away from the 300-win milestone. Hoppa would become the 33rd coach in the history of the sport to amass 300 career wins, including the 10th female to do so. She would also become the 28th coach to win 300+ matches at the Division I level and the eighth female to accomplish the feat.
Auburn enters the weekend as the SEC leader in assists (42), points per game (8.29), assists per game (3.00) and shots on goal per game (8.36). The Tigers also rank second in the conference in goals (37), points (116), scoring offense (2.64) and shot per game (18.00).
The Tigers have outscored their opponents 37-13 thru 14 matches this season. The 37 goals scored thru 14 contests are the second most in program history (47, 2000).
Twelve different players have scored a goal this season, led by a career best eight goals from junior Bri Folds, who ranks in the top four in the SEC in goals and points (22). The 12 goal scorers are the team's most since 2014.
Sunday marks the eighth all-time meeting between Auburn and Missouri with the Tigers trailing in the all-time series, 2-4-1. Missouri is 2-0-1 in games played in Columbia.
Auburn has posted a 51-23-7 (.673) overall record and 22-11-5 (.645) record in SEC play since the start of the 2015 season. The team ranks fourth in wins in both categories during that time - trailing South Carolina, Florida and Texas A&M.
With 10 wins through 14 contests, Auburn has guaranteed itself a winning record, marking the team's 17th winning season in 20 years under Hoppa. It also marks the 15th double-digit win season under Hoppa.
Scouting Missouri
Missouri enters the weekend with a 5-7-2 overall record and are one of five teams, including Auburn, tied for seventh in the conference with a 2-3-1 mark.
Junior forward Sarah Luebbert leads the Tigers attack with eight points on three goals and two assists. Freshman forward Julissa Cisneros has matched Luebbert with three goals this season.
Senior goalkeeper Kelsey Dossey is the Tigers last line of defense and is holding opponents to a 1.20 goals against average. She ranks third in the conference with 58 saves.
Player to Watch: M.E. Craven
Craven made her Auburn debut and played 29 minutes at Texas A&M. She then earned the first start of her collegiate career and played all 90 minutes vs. Georgia, her home-state team. Craven played a pivotal role on the back line in the team's eighth shutout of the season.
Auburn Treks to Columbia to Take on Missouri
