AUBURN, Ala. — Auburn Soccer returns to the friendly confines of the Auburn Soccer Complex this weekend as the No. 8 Tigers welcome Ole Miss for another tough SEC matchup Sunday, Sept. 29 at 2 p.m. CT.
“Sunday games in this league are always tough, and this one is no different,” Auburn head coach Karen Hoppa said. “This will be our fourth game in 11 days. It’s a lot of physicality, fatigue, and mental toughness in a very short period, but the game knows no different. We’ve got to be sharp, and we’ve got to play our game.”
Ole Miss makes its way to The Plains at 5-7-0, 0-3-0 overall. The Rebels’ defense has proved strong this season, but with little offensive support, they dropped their first three conference contests, losing 2-1 at Tennessee, 1-0 at LSU and 1-0 against Texas.
Freshman Kayla Keefer leads her squad’s attack with 10 points on four goals and two assists. Senior goalkeeper Shu Ohba has proved to be the Rebels’ difference-maker over her two seasons in Oxford, as she owns a 1.01 career goals-against average paired with 103 saves and seven solo shutouts.
A member of the 2023 All-SEC Second Team, Ohba represented her home nation, Japan, at the 2024 Paris Olympics earlier this summer. Team Japan advanced to the knockout stage via Group C before falling to the United States 1-0 in the quarterfinal round.
Auburn (9-1-1, 1-1-1) trails in the all-time series against Ole Miss, 12-14-5, but does have a slight 7-6-2 advantage when meeting on The Plains. A win on Sunday secures the Tigers’ first in the series since 2020 and just the second since 2013.
Last Thursday, Auburn came up short on the road at Texas A&M as the Tigers fell 4-1 to the Aggies. It was a back-and-forth battle that saw several Tiger players leave the pitch early due to injuries. Senior Becky Contreras provided a late offensive spark with her fourth header goal of the season in the 83rd minute of the match.
Nick Flohre and Graham Doty have Sunday’s call on the SEC Network+. Radio coverage will be provided via WEGL 91.1.
As always, matches at the Auburn Soccer Complex are free and open to the public. Fans in attendance on Sunday will receive 2000s-themed bucket hats while supplies last.