AUBURN, Ala—The No. 8 Auburn Tigers (9-1-1, 1-1-1) look to rebound from their first loss of the season at Texas A&M when they host the Ole Miss Rebels (5-7-0, 0-3-0). The Rebels are playing for their first win of SEC play, while the Tigers look to regain their early season success with a win on Sunday.
Auburn had their first SEC road game on Thursday and suffered a disappointing 4-1 loss to the Aggies. After a foul committed by goalkeeper Maddie Prohaska led to a subsequent penalty shot and goal for the Aggies, she was taken out of the game with an apparent head injury.
It is unknown now whether Prohaska will play on Sunday, but it is a huge blow to the Tigers if she is out on Sunday. With Prohaska in goal, the Tigers have only given up six goals and have had no losses this season. Taylor Richards, who subbed in for Prohaska on Thursday, has given up three goals and only has 86 minutes of playing time this season.
This game appears to be about goalkeeper play, as Ole Miss has played three goalies this season, compared to Auburn’s two, and each of the Rebel’s goalies has a minimum of one full game under her belt. This could be a challenge for the Tigers especially if Richards is expected to play the full game.
Who will be playing goalie for each team on Sunday, is in question, how each team plays on offense could be the difference between a win or a loss. Auburn’s offense statistically appears the stronger of the two, with twelve players with one goal and eight with multiple, compared to Ole Miss’s ten with one goal and two with multiple. In addition, the Tigers have 13 players with an assist, compared to Ole Miss’s eight.
Both teams do have their stars on offense, and for Ole Miss, those are Kayla Keefer and Kelly Brady. Keefer leads the team in combined goals and assists, four goals and two assists, and is closely followed by Brady, three goals and one assist. If Keefer and Brady can get a rhythm going, they’ll be able to put pressure on the Tiger's defense and goalkeeper.
On Auburn, there are multiple stars to their offense, but for Sunday’s game, Auburn should look to Becky Contreras and Anna Haddock. Contreras had Auburn’s sole goal against Texas A&M, bringing her total goal count for the season to four. Haddock only has three goals this season, but her strength is in her ability to set others up for goals, as she leads Auburn with eight assists so far, twice as many as any other Tiger.
With the starting goalie as a major question for the Tigers, Auburn’s offense needs to be on point and ready to go, so they can rebound from Thursday’s loss.
The match will start at 2:00 p.m. CT at the Auburn Soccer Complex, and you can listen live on WEGL 91.1 FM or the Auburn Athletics app.
