Fresh off head coach Karen Hoppa’s 300th career win, Auburn soccer (11-3-1, 3-3-1 SEC) hosts No. 12 Vanderbilt (13-1-1, 6-0-1 SEC) in its second to last home contest of the 2018 regular season Thursday. Kickoff at the Auburn Soccer Complex is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. CT.
The contest will be available on radio at WEGL 91.1 as Hayden Cringler and Jacob Hillman will be on the call.
Auburn Quick Hits
Head coach Karen Hoppa earned her 300th career victory in a 1-0 win at Missouri last Sunday. She became the 28th coach to win 300+ matches at the Division I level and the eighth female to accomplish the feat.
With three SEC contests remaining, Auburn stands at 3-3-1 in the league and is in a three-way tie with LSU and Ole Miss for sixth. The top-10 teams in the league advance to the SEC Tournament, which the Tigers have made 17 consecutive trips to, and the top six teams earn a first-round bye.
Auburn has turned in back-to-back shutouts for the fourth time this season and hasn’t allowed a goal in more than 200 minutes dating back to its match at Texas A&M.
The Tigers nine shutouts this season are tied for the fourth most in a single-season in program history and their 42 assists are ninth all-time. The team has also cracked the top-10 in goals (38) and points (116).
Redshirt senior goalkeeper Sarah Le Beau has accounted for seven shutouts this season. She is tied for the seventh most in a single-season in the category and one shy of matching her career high turned in a season ago.
Auburn has outscored its opponents 38-13 thru 15 matches this season. The 38 goals scored thru 15 contests are tied for the fourth most in program history to this point in the season and the 13 goal allowed are tied for the fifth fewest.
Thursday marks the 22nd all-time meeting between Auburn and Vanderbilt with the Tigers holding a 10-7-4 advantage, including a 6-3-0 record against the Commodores at home.
Auburn has posted a 52-23-7 (.677) overall record and 23-11-5 (.654) record in SEC play since the start of the 2015 season. The team ranks fourth in wins in both categories during that time - trailing South Carolina, Florida and Texas A&M.
With 11 wins through 15 contests, Auburn has guaranteed itself a winning record, marking the team’s 17th winning season in 20 years under Hoppa. It also marks the 15th double-digit win season under Hoppa.
Vanderbilt Quick Hits
Vanderbilt enters the week at the top of the SEC with a 13-1-1 overall record and 6-0-1 mark in conference play. The Commodores have earned a result in 14 straight contests.
Haley Hopkins leads the Commodores attack with 26 points on 11 goals and our assists. She ranks third in the conference in goals and points.
Defensively, Vanderbilt has allowed just eight goals this season and has turned in eight shutouts. Lauren Demarchi leads the way in goal with a 0.29 goals against average and .914 save percentage.
Players to Watch
Vanderbilt - Junior goalkeeper Lauren Demarchi recently received Defensive Player of the Week honors after she became the first goalkeeper to hold South Carolina scoreless this season. Demarchi is 10-0-1 this season.
Auburn - Haley Whitaker picked a great time to come through with her first SEC goal and game-winner in a 1-0 win at Missouri. In a season-high 65 minutes, the freshman from Birmingham took a pass in the 70th minute and sprinted down the center of the field. She eluded a quartet of Missouri defenders before finishing with the right foot to lead the Tigers to victory.
