AUBURN, Ala. — Auburn soccer concludes its 2023 regular season schedule Thursday, Oct. 26 at the University of Georgia. Kickoff from the Turner Soccer Complex is set for 5 p.m. CT. The match will be available to stream on SECN+ with Tatum Hodge and Jeff Dantzler on the call.
"Our postseason is in our hands," Tigers head coach Karen Hoppa said. "We control our own destiny. Now, it's no easy task. Playing away against a very good Georgia team that has been top-25 a lot of this year presents a tall challenge for sure, but our seniors and our captains know how good it feels to rise to a challenge and overcome it, so we're going to lean on them to instill that fire in the younger players."
A win against Georgia (8-4-4, 4-3-2) would officially punch Auburn's ticket to this year's SEC Soccer Tournament in Pensacola, Florida. The Tigers rank ninth in the current league standings with 11 points under their belts. The top 10 teams in the conference following Thursday's batch of matches will receive bids to the tournament.
History favors Auburn this week as it has taken each of the previous six meetings against the Bulldogs. The last time the Tigers dropped a contest in the series was 2015, and the last time the Tigers lost in Athens was 2006.
Victory will be no easy feat however, as Georgia recently clinched the SEC East title for the first time in its history. Led by second-year head coach Keidane McAlpine, the Bulldogs are 5-1-3 at home this season. McAlpine is another member of the famous Hoppa coaching tree as he spent six seasons on The Plains as an assistant coach from 2006-11.
Hoppa's Tigers are coming off a 3-0 rout of LSU on Sunday's Senior Night. Senior Maddie Simpson made her last appearance at home spectacular by bookending the Orange & Blue scoring with her first two goals of the year. Freshman Jessica Osborne also got on the stat sheet with her first career goal in the 21st minute.
Senior Anna Haddock picked up a pair of assists and senior Maddie Prohaska made three saves to record her 24th career shutout.
Following Thursday's match, Auburn awaits seedings for the SEC Tournament set for Oct. 29 – Nov. 5 at the Ashton Brosnaham Soccer Complex in Pensacola, Florida.