ATHENS, Ga. — In its final match of the regular season, Auburn soccer played the champions of the SEC East, Georgia, to a scoreless tie Thursday night at the Turner Soccer Complex. It was the Tigers' second consecutive shutout in league play.
"Great effort from our squad," Tigers head coach Karen Hoppa said. "I thought Georgia looked as good as I've ever seen them. It was a testament to our effort and determination to be able to shut out a team like that. Now, we wait on the rest of the results and hope we've done enough to go to the beach."
Auburn picked up another point in league play, moving to 12 total. The Tigers await their postseason fate following the conclusion of the rest of Thursday's league matches.
With four massive saves and the shutout, Auburn's player of the match was senior goalkeeper Maddie Prohaska. Alongside the back line, the West Chester, Ohio native held the Bulldogs silent for the full 90 minutes. With a diving stop on a hit from Hannah White in the 65th minute, Prohaska became the sixth keeper in program history to make 250 career saves. Once the clean sheet became official, she hit another milestone, 25 career shutouts.
"Every single person, from the front to the back, made a difference in our defense tonight," Prohaska said. "We had some big defensive plays from our back four. I'm really proud of them."
Auburn's high-IQ defensive positioning proved to be a major factor in the draw. Six Tigers denied Bulldog chances with blocked shots. Jessica Osborne, Erin Houston, Sydnie Thibodaux and Olivia Candelino each snuffed out a shot. Junior LJ Knox blocked two.
"We played our tails off tonight, and I couldn't be more proud," Knox said. "We've grown together all season long, and this was a product of everything we've learned along the way. We hope there's more to come from this team this season."
Offensively, the Tigers got off five shots and created two corner kicks. Marissa Arias, Osborne, Anna Haddock, Olivia Woodson and Becky Contreras created the shots while Auburn's corners were created by Haddock and Arias.
The 2023 SEC Soccer Tournament is set for Oct. 29 – Nov. 5 at the Ashton Brosnaham Soccer Complex in Pensacola, Florida.
