AUBURN, Ala. – Auburn soccer (2-0-0) will hit the road for its first two away tests of the season, beginning with the defending national champion, Florida State (1-0-1), Thursday at 5 p.m. CT.
The game will be broadcast via the ACC Network with Jenn Hildreth Rien and Kacey White on the call.
"Florida State is obviously going to be the biggest challenge we've faced thus far," Auburn head coach Karen Hoppa said. "With a new head coach, we expect them to be a little different in some areas, but we know they'll still play with the quality that the defending national champions would. We've got to be a lot quicker in our speed of play, in our possession because we know the pressure is going to come faster. Our ability to defend must be stronger and we've got to be better on finishing because we know they are not going to give us as many chances as we had in the previous game."
STARTING XIAuburn opens its road slate tabbed as the No. 16 team in the country by the United Soccer Coaches Poll.
The Tigers head to Tallahassee with 10 goals already in the net this season. Its 5.00 scoring offense ranks second in the nation after opening weekend. The Tigers' 10 goals have been scored by eight different players.
In its 9-0 win over Southern Miss, Auburn tied the second-highest single-game goals total in program history. The record, 11 goals, came in an 11-0 victory over Alabama A&M in 2000.
Graduate student forward Sabrina McNeill picked up the first two goals in the Orange & Blue last time out. Accounting her career at Eastern Michigan, McNeill's career goals total now stands at 29. The brace was also the fifth of her career.
Junior midfielder Anna Haddock was recently named to the MAC Hermann Trophy watch list. The Hermann Award is given to the most outstanding performer in the sport each year. Haddock has scored a goal in back-to-back games to begin the season.
The Tigers and the Seminoles met a year ago in Auburn. Florida State pulled out the 2-1 victory. Auburn's lone goal was scored by Haddock via an assist from Grace Sklopan.
Auburn's back-to-back shutout wins to open the year mark the first time since 2015 that an Auburn squad has accomplished the feat. The 2015 team began the year by going 6-0 with six-straight shutouts.
The Tiger defense is one of 56 in Division I to hold opponents scoreless through opening weekend.
Junior goalkeeper Maddie Prohaska picked up the 15th clean sheet of her career in Sunday's shutout, also picking up a pair of saves to bring her collegiate total to 135.
Even with an upperclassman-heavy roster, the Auburn freshman have managed to make in impact early in the year. Four of the six freshmen have already logged game minutes with Erin Houston and Olivia Fout picking up a pair of assists and Hayden Colson scoring her first career goal in the Tigers' win over the Golden Eagles.
Thursday marks the 14th meeting in history between the Tigers and Florida State. The Seminoles hold an 11-2 advantage overall and a 5-0 advantage when meeting in Tallahassee.
PLAYER TO WATCH: M.E. CRAVENGraduate student M.E. Craven has anchored the back line for the Auburn defense through the first two games of the season. Opponents have only mustered eight shots through the pair of games, with only three coming on-goal.
This year, Craven was voted by her teammates to lead the squad as one of three captains. It marks the third-straight year Craven has been selected as a captain.
SCOUTING FLORIDA STATEBrian Pensky will lead the Seminoles in his first year as head coach. Pensky previously spent 10 years as the head coach at Tennessee.
The Seminoles posted a 22-1-2 record a season ago with the lone loss coming in ACC play to No. 6 Duke, falling 1-0. Florida State defeated No. 13 BYU 4-3 in penalty kicks to capture the 2021 NCAA Championship.
In its opening matches of the season, Florida State tied No. 12 South Carolina 0-0 and beat Georgia 3-1.
NEXT UPThe Tigers make a quick turnaround, facing off against another ACC foe in Wake Forest on Sunday, Aug. 28. Kick off in Winston-Salem is slated for noon CT.