Auburn travels to Gainesville to take on Gators

Auburn Notes
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Cat Wofford/Auburn Athletics

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Auburn's (6-6-2, 3-3-0 SEC) lone contest of the weekend is a matchup at Florida (9-5-0, 5-1-0 SEC) Friday night. Kickoff at Donald R. Dizney Stadium is scheduled for 6 p.m. CT.

The contest will be broadcast on SEC Network+ and can be found on the Watch ESPN app.

Starting XI

The Tigers are coming off a pair of hard-fought, one-goal losses at Mississippi State and against No. 13 Texas A&M last week, marking the first time the team lost back-to-back contests this season.

Friday marks Auburn's fourth game against a ranked opponent this season. The Tigers are 1-2-0 against ranked foes with each contest being decided by one goal.

Starting with last Sunday's matchup against Texas A&M, four of Auburn's last five contests of the season are against a ranked opponent.

The Tigers have allowed just one goal and have outscored the opponent 14-1 in games they have won this season.

Lakeland, Florida, native and senior midfielder Bri Folds returns to her home state for the final time in an Auburn uniform.

The last time Folds played in a contest in Gainesville, she scored the game-winning goal in a 3-1 win that sent Auburn to the Elite 8 for the first time in program history.

Goalkeeper Kate Hart has turned in six shutouts in her first season in an Auburn uniform. She would move into a tie for seventh in Auburn's single-season history with another shutout.

Auburn is 9-17-2 all-time against Florida and 2-8-0 against the Gators in Gainesville.

The Tigers have earned a result in four of the last five meetings dating back to 2016, and the team has outscored the Gators 6-1 in the last two contests in Gainesville.

Sixteen of the 28 matchups between the Tigers and Gators have been decided by one goal, including each of the last three.

Scouting Florida

Florida enters the weekend tied for second in the league with a 5-1-0 record. The Gators won the first four games of conference play before dropping a 3-2 decision at Ole Miss last week.

The Gators rank third in the conference in both goals (30) and points (84).

A quartet of players have registered double-digit points, led by Vanessa Kara's 17 points on eight goals and one assist. Kara ranks tied for third in the league in goals.  

Player to Watch: Jessie Gerow

Gerow has played in all 14 contests and has earned a start in nine matches, including each of the last six. The Houston, Texas, native scored her third goal of the season last week at Mississippi State and has registered points in two of the last three contests. All three of her goals and one of her two assists have come away from home.