AUBURN, Ala. – No. 11 Auburn soccer (2-0-3) will play its second game of a three-match home swing against Army (1-2-2) Sunday, Sept. 4 at noon CT.
"Army is an opponent that we've never faced before, so we don't know a lot about them," Tigers head coach Karen Hoppa said. "Obviously, knowing the type of student that goes to the military academy, we're expecting them to be really organized, really disciplined and really athletic. We're excited to welcome them to Auburn and see how we matchup with them."
The game will be available for streaming on SEC Network+ and will also be broadcast on WEGL 91.1.
Admission to the Auburn Soccer Complex is free, and Sunday's match will be Military Appreciation Night.STARTING XI Auburn is tabbed as No. 11 in the latest United Soccer Coaches Poll.
The Tigers are 157-56-18 (.737) all-time at home under coach Hoppa. The program has posted a winning record at home in 21 of 23 seasons of the Hoppa era.
This season will mark the 30th in program history and the 24th under coach Hoppa.
Five games into the 2022 slate, Auburn is one of seven Southeastern Conference teams that remain undefeated and one of four that are ranked. South Carolina checks in at No. 4 while Ole Miss has been tabbed No. 13 and Texas A&M rounds out the quartet at No. 18.
The Tigers' draw against West Virginia marked the first time in program history that Auburn has played to three-straight ties. Due to an NCAA rule change, no team will resolve ties in overtime or via penalty kicks until the postseason.
Playing against her mother and hometown team, Auburn junior Sammie Brown saw 16 minutes off the bench against WVU. In the 68th minute, Brown took her first career shot, only to be saved by the Mountaineers' keeper.
Thanks to the Tiger back line, the Mountaineers placed zero shots on-goal in the 0-0 stalemate, helping Maddie Prohaska extend her streak of zero goals allowed in the run of play this season. Prohaska recorded zero saves in the contest, the first time since the 3-0 victory at Texas A&M last season.
With the 16th clean sheet of her career, Prohaska now stands fifth in Auburn soccer history in career shutouts and third in goals against average (0.91).
Sunday will mark the first time in history that the Tigers and Black Knights will square off on the pitch. The assistant coach for Army, Tori Ball, was a forward for Auburn from 2010-2014. Ball netted eight game-winners during her time in the Orange & Blue.
Junior forward Olivia Candelino broke into the Tigers' starting 11 for the first time this year after recovering from a minor injury suffered in the preseason. Prohaska is the only starter to play all 450 minutes of the season, however M.E. Craven and Hannah Waesch have gone the distance in four of five games.
The Auburn bench has also been vital to the team's early success this season. The Tigers average seven different subs per game with a season-high 10 coming in the 9-0 victory against Southern Miss. Five of Auburn's 11 goals have come from players off the bench.PLAYER TO WATCH: CARLY THATCHERAuburn midfielder Carly Thatcher has picked up right where she left off a season ago. The Greer, South Carolina product scored the first goal of her sophomore campaign in the victory over Southern Miss and has gotten a handful of good looks in each matchup, coming off the bench.
SCOUTING ARMYTracy Chao is poised at the helm of the Black Knights' program for the third season in 2022. Under Chao's leadership, Army has complied a record of 12-12-5.
Army posted a 7-9-3 record a season ago, going 1-6-2 on the road.
To begin the year, the Black Knights boast a 1-2-2 record with a 2-0 win over Fairleigh Dickinson and a pair of losses to Air Force (2-1) and Colorado College (3-1). In its final matchup before squaring off with the Tigers, Army battled No. 25 Samford to a 1-1 draw.NEXT UP The Tigers will host UMass Lowell for the final home nonconference bout of the season. Kickoff at the Auburn Soccer Complex is set for Thursday, Sept. 8 at 6:30 p.m. CT.