AUBURN, Ala. — Heading west and hitting the road for the first time this season, Auburn soccer faces a pair of formidable foes this week in No. 11 BYU and Utah Valley.
Auburn squares off with the nationally ranked Cougars on Friday, Aug. 29 at 8 p.m. CT. The match with Utah Valley is set for the following Monday, Sept. 1 at 1 p.m. CT. Both matches will be streamed on ESPN+.
“This is going to be a really unique experience for our girls and an opportunity to truly face real adversity,” Tigers head coach James Armstrong said. “We’ve got two great opponents at altitude with massive amounts of fans in the stadiums. We’re going to have to be fully prepared by kickoff because once those games start, it’s all up to the players. These are the type of big-moment games you come to Auburn to play in. It’ll be great preparation as we move forward to conference play.”
AUBURN NOTABLES
Auburn rolls into Utah fresh off a breakthrough weekend that saw nine Tiger goals hit the back of the net, along with a pair of clean sheets, defensively. The Tigers outshot Southern Miss and Kennesaw State 57-0 and allowed one corner kick. It was just the second time in program history Auburn recorded back-to-back matches with zero shots conceded.
Senior Erin Flurey scored four times in a 34-minute period against Kennesaw State, marking the program’s first haul since Tiffany Smith dropped four on LaGrange College in the program’s first season, 1993. Flurey was named an Honorable Mention member of Top Drawer Soccer’s Team of the Week for her outstanding performance.
Heading into Utah, Flurey leads the Tigers’ offense with eight points on four goals. Next is junior Olivia Woodson with 6 points (2 g, 2a), followed by junior Dylan Driver (3a) and senior Taylor Chism (1g, 1a) with three points apiece.
In goal, freshman Ayana Yapo has seen the bulk of the minutes as the starting keeper. She’s been a part of three shutouts with five saves on six shots faced. Backing Yapo are Chism, freshman Lily Devereux and seniors Asha Means and Hayden Colson, all of whom have started each of the season’s first four matches in defensive roles.
SCOUTING BYU
Jennifer Rockwood leads the Cougars with over 460 wins in her 31 seasons in Provo. Under Rockwood, BYU has reached double-digit wins in six of the last seven seasons, including a 20-3-3 run two years ago.
This season, BYU is off to a running start at 2-0-1 with both victories coming against ranked opponents. It opened the year with a 3-1 win at No. 24 Minnesota, and bested No. 4 UCLA 1-0 in Provo last weekend. The Cougars’ draw came at home in a 2-2 battle with Cal Poly.
Ellie Walbruch paces the BYU attack, netting three of its six goals thus far. Izzi Stratton anchors the defense as the only player to go the full 90 in every match. In goal, Paiton Collins boasts a 1.00 GAA with nine saves and a shutout.
Auburn and BYU have met twice prior. First, BYU knocked the Tigers out of the second round of the 2012 NCAA Tournament with a 1-0 win. More recently, the Cougars visited The Plains for a regular season matchup in 2021. Anna Haddock recorded the first brace of her collegiate career to will the Tigers to a 2-1 victory.
SCOUTING UTAH VALLEY
Utah Valley is led by head coach Chris Lemay in his ninth season. The Wolverines were tabbed as a heavy favorite to win the WAC this year after three straight regular season titles.
Lemay’s squad is 1-1-0 this season after having its season opener at Idaho State canceled. Their first win came at home, in the Wolverines’ brand new 20-million-dollar UCCU stadium, beating Utah 2-0. They dropped a 3-2 contest at No. 23 Kansas last weekend. Utah Valley hosts California the Thursday before playing the Tigers.
Ruby Hladek has scored twice to lead the Wolverines. The 2024 WAC Forward of the Year, Faith Webber, has also scored once. Leah Wolf has seen every second between the sticks thus far and owns a 1.50 GAA with 15 saves on 18 shots faced.
Monday’s contest will be the first in history between Auburn and Utah Valley.
TICKETS
Admission for the matchup between BYU and Auburn at South Field can be purchased here. Tickets for Auburn’s clash with Utah Valley at UCCU Stadium can be purchased here.