AUBURN, Ala. — Another double dose of nonconference action is on deck for No. 13 Auburn soccer as it travels to in-state rival Samford Thursday, Sept. 5 before returning home to host No. 17 Ohio State Sunday, Sept. 8.
Kickoff in Birmingham is set for 6 p.m. CT Thursday, while Sunday’s contest with the Buckeyes starts at 11 a.m. CT.
“This will be our toughest weekend of the season so far,” Tigers head coach Karen Hoppa said. “Both of these squads are well-rounded teams, but man, they have the potential to be very dangerous in their attack. Our defending, especially on set pieces, will have to be at a very high level.”
After handling business on the road at South Alabama and a home defeat of App State, the Tigers roll into the penultimate week of nonconference play at 5-0-0. Auburn has netted a whopping 22 goals while conceding zero, which officially sets a program record for goal differential through the first five matches of a season.
Offensively, 14 Tigers have chipped in on the goal-scoring action while 13 have already recorded an assist, including goalkeeper Maddie Prohaska. The West Chester, Ohio product has also been a defensive force, joining starting defenders Mallory Mooney, LJ Knox, Jessica Osborne and Erin Houston to only surrender seven shots on frame through the first 450 minutes of play this season.
After a pair of clean sheets and an assist last weekend, Prohaska was voted the SEC Defensive Player of the Week for the second time in a three-week period.
Samford hosts the Tigers sitting on over a week of rest, having not played since a 2-1 loss at Army West Point on Aug. 28. Led by longtime head coach Todd Yelton, the Bulldogs are 2-2-1 this season with wins over Tennessee Tech (3-1) and Troy (4-0).
Auburn has dominated the all-time series against Samford 12-3-4 but has not defeated the Bulldogs since the beginning of the 2021 season. Samford pulled off a 2-0 win to upset the Tigers at home during the first round of the 2021 NCAA Tournament. The previous two meetings between the squads have ended in draws.
This season, the Bulldogs have scored 11 times but have also given up 12 to their opponents. Fleming Dean and Layton Glisson lead the squad with two goals apiece. Peyton Hull and Mia Krusinski have split the goalkeeping duties with the latter having the stronger goals-against average (1.60).
Sunday’s opponent, No. 17 Ohio State, sits at 3-0-1 currently with wins over No. 24 Duke (1-0), Milwaukee (4-0) and Ashland (3-1). The Buckeyes fought to a 1-1 tie against No. 21 South Carolina last week. They face Navy Thursday, Sept. 5 in their first road match of the season before heading to The Plains.
Senior and longtime teammate of Prohaska, Kailyn Dudukovich, spearheads the Ohio State attack with five goals already in her pocket this season. Molly Pritchard has taken most of the reps in goal, saving 18 of 19 shots faced for an impressive 0.30 GAA and 0.947 save percentage.
The Tigers and Buckeyes met in Columbus during the 2023 season. Ohio State scored a pair of first-half goals to win 2-0.
Thursday’s match in Birmingham will be streamed via ESPN+. Sunday’s clash will air live on the SEC Network. Ian Carry and Eric Duick have the call.
As always, matches at the Auburn Soccer Complex are free and open to the public. Fans at Sunday’s match will receive goalkeeper koozies while supplies last.