AUBURN, Ala. — Auburn soccer welcomes its first top-25 opponent to The Plains this season as it will face No. 15 South Carolina Friday, Sept. 29 at 6:30 p.m. CT on SECN+. The match will be this season's Alumni Night at the Auburn Soccer Complex.
"South Carolina always presents a challenge because they are great on both sides of the ball," Tigers head coach Karen Hoppa said. "Our key is going to be starting the game well and preventing them from scoring early because if they do, they can lock you down as good as anyone in the country. It'll be an entertaining matchup under the Friday night lights, so we hope the Auburn Family shows up in full force."
Auburn is coming off a 4-point weekend in league play after topping Missouri 3-2 at home and fighting Ole Miss to a 0-0 draw on the road. The Tigers enter the match at 5-3-3 overall and 1-1 in conference matches. Fifth year Sydney Richards paces the Orange & Blue offense with four goals and senior Anna Haddock leads the team in assists with five.
Senior goalkeeper Maddie Prohaska has started all 11 matches in net and has made saves on 29 of 40 shots faced (.725). Prohaska has 22 career shutouts, the fourth most by any goalkeeper in school history.
South Carolina rolls into town on the heels of an 0-0-2 weekend after a scoreless tie at Kentucky and a 1-1 tie at home against Tennessee. Overall, the Gamecocks boast a 7-1-3 record and are 1-0-2 in SEC play. While senior Cat Barry leads the USC offense in goals (7), assists (4) and points (18), defense has been the Gamecocks' strength this season as they have only conceded only six goals, averaging 0.55 a game.
A victory versus the Gamecocks would match Auburn's SEC win total from last year and be the program's second victory over USC since 2013. The Tigers trail 7-14-4 in the all-time series but did take down South Carolina in the previous matchup. Neither squad met last season, however, they battled twice in 2021. USC toppled the Tigers 3-2 in the regular season, but it was Auburn who got revenge a month later in the opening round of the SEC Tournament in the form of a 2-1 win.
Richards netted the game-winner in the 64th minute of the match. She was assisted by Marissa Arias and Olivia Candelino.
Following Friday's throwdown, Auburn hits the road for one of college sports' biggest rivalries, the Iron Bowl. The Tigers meet the No. 9 Crimson Tide Thursday, Oct. 5 at 6 p.m. CT.