Auburn’s Olivia Candelino and Maddie Prohaska were both awarded SEC weekly honors after their performances in Auburn's win over Georgia on Saturday, the conference announced Monday. Candelino was named SEC Freshman of the Week after scoring the Tigers game-winning goal and Prohaska was tabbed SEC Defensive Player of the Week for her work inside the goalies' box.
Auburn is just the third team to have two honorees in the same week this season while marking the team’s fourth and fifth SEC recognitions of the 2020-21 season.
“We are thrilled to see both Maddie and Olivia recognized by the conference as players of the week,” said Auburn head coach Karen Hoppa. “We had a hard-fought victory against Georgia on Saturday, and Maddie’s defensive effort, as well as Olivia’s outstanding goal, were key performances in the game for us.”
Candelino’s 62nd minute upper-90 goal proved to be the difference in Saturday’s defensive matchup. The Jacksonville, Florida, native leads the team in scoring this spring with two goals through four matchups. On Saturday, Candelino beat her defender on a half turn and fired a shot into the top left corner of the goal, recording her first game-winning goal.
Maddie Prohaska turned in her fifth shutout of the season and sixth clean sheet overall on Saturday. She made a pair of big saves after Auburn’s goal in the later stages of the game and continued to hold the Bulldogs scoreless with five saved shots in the match. The shutout marked Prohaska and the Tigers' third shutout in four games played this spring.
Auburn will have back-to-back road contests against Louisville on March 20 and against rival Alabama on March 27. Kickoff against Louisville is set for 4 p.m. CST.
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Larry is a senior studying journalism with a minor in sociology. He is from Enterprise, Alabama and is in his third year with The Auburn Plainsman.
Twitter: @ReportingLarry
