AUBURN, Ala. – Auburn (4-3-2, 1-0-0 SEC) opens its Southeastern Conference home schedule against No. 18 Tennessee (6-2-1, 0-1-0 SEC) Thursday night. Kickoff at the Auburn Soccer Complex is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. CT.
Thursday's match will be broadcast on SEC Network+ and is available on the WatchESPN app. Brit Bowen and Mac Matthews will have the call from the broadcast booth. The contest will also be available on radio at WEGL 91.1.
Admission to all Auburn soccer home matches is free.
Starting XI
Auburn is 13-12 all-time in SEC home openers, including 12-8 in conference home openers under head coach Karen Hoppa.
The Tigers have won four straight SEC home openers dating back to 2015. A fifth straight SEC home opening win would mark a new program record.
The team is 165-61-18 all-time at the Auburn Soccer Complex and 35-9-3 at home since the start of the 2015 season.
Auburn started SEC play with a 2-1 come-from-behind win at Kentucky last Thursday, marking the team's fourth straight win in its SEC opener.
The team improved to 12-13-2 all-time in SEC openers, including 11-8-2 in league openers under head coach Karen Hoppa.
Auburn has earned a result in seven straight contests against Tennessee dating back to 2012, going 3-0-4 against the Volunteers in the span.
The Tigers trail the all-time series 9-11-4, but are 5-3-1 against Tennessee at the Auburn Soccer Complex.
Auburn has played in three straight double overtime contests and are 1-0-2 in those games. The three straight double overtime contests are the most since 2013.
Five different Tigers - Bri Folds (5), Sarah Houchin (3), Sydney Richards (3), Jessie Gerow (2) and Hailey Whitaker (2) - have scored multiple goals and have accounted for all of the team's individual goals this season.
The Tigers have allowed just one goal in games they have won this season. The team has outscored its opponents 11-1 and have outshot the opponent 85-42 in wins.
Auburn has turned in 13 shutouts in 29 contests since the start of last season, including four shutouts this year.
Scouting Tennessee
Coming off the program's first Elite Eight run in 2018, Tennessee enters Thursday with a 6-2-1 overall record and 0-1-0 mark in SEC play.
The Volunteers dropped a double-overtime contest to Vanderbilt in the team's SEC opener last Sunday.
Senior midfielder MA Vignola leads the team in scoring with 13 points on five goals and three assists, while a quartet of other Volunteers have scored a pair of goals this season.
Promotions
Tumbler giveaway – first 250 fans starting at 5:30 p.m.
Player to Watch: Kate Hart
Hart held an Old Dominion team that had scored 21 goals in its first seven contests off the scoreboard last Sunday, marking her and the Tigers' fourth shutout of the season. A graduate transfer from San Diego State, Hart hasn't allowed a goal in the last 210 minutes of game action. She has been in net in every minute of every match so far this season.