Tigers set for in-state showdown with Troy Sunday

Auburn Notes
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Cat Wofford/Auburn Athletics

AUBURN, Ala. – The Auburn soccer team wraps up the weekend with an in-state showdown against Troy Sunday evening. Kickoff at the Auburn Soccer Complex is scheduled for 6 p.m. CT.

Sunday'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 improved to 21-4-2 all-time in home openers with a 2-0 win against Syracuse at the Auburn Soccer Complex Thursday night.

Auburn is 164-60-17 all-time at the Auburn Soccer Complex and has earned a result in 11 straight regular season, home contests against a non-conference opponent.

The Tigers are 34-8-2 (.795) at home since the start of the 2015 season.

Sunday marks the fourth all-time meeting between Auburn and Troy with the Tigers holding a 3-0-0 advantage in the in-state series. Auburn has outscored the Trojans 9-1 in the previous three meetings.

Junior defender Sarah Houchin was named Top Drawer Soccer Team of the Week honorable mention this week after turning in a two-goal performance, including her first collegiate goal, and helping lead the team to its first shutout win of the season against Maryland.

Senior midfielder Bri Folds has scored in three straight games, marking the second time since the start of last season she has accomplished the feat. Folds would match a program record with a goal in four straight contests if she is to score Sunday.

With three points on a goal and assist Thursday, Folds not ranked tied for ninth in program history with 65 career points. She also ranks in the top 10 in program history in game-winning goals (nine), assists (23) and is one goal shy of cracking the list in the category.

The Tigers are coming off the program's fifth straight appearance in the NCAA Tournament and its 16th NCAA appearance in the last 18 seasons. The team is one of 13 teams in the country to make five straight NCAA Tournament appearances.

Hoppa has led the Tigers to 17 winning seasons in 20 years on The Plains, including 15 seasons with 10 or more wins. She notched her 300th career win with a 1-0 victory at Missouri (Oct. 14) last year, becoming the 33rd head coach in the history of the sport to reach the milestone.

Scouting Troy

Troy enters the weekend having earned five straight results to start the season and has posted a 3-0-2 record.

The Trojans have totaled 13 goals through five contests and are led in scoring by senior midfielder Kiersten Edlund, who has totaled nine points on three goals and three assists.

Goalkeeper Haliegh Mercer led the Trojans to back-to-back shutouts to start the season and has allowed four goals in five matches.

Player to Watch: Hailey Whitaker

Sophomore Hailey Whitaker turned in the game-winner with a right-footed strike in the 52nd minute of Thursday's win vs. Syracuse. It was Whitaker's first goal of the season and the third of her career. It also marked the Birmingham native's second game-winning goal of her career.