Coming off of a tough 2-1 road loss to the No. 17 Tennessee Volunteers, the No. 12 Auburn Tigers will be searching for their second conference victory of the season on Sunday against the unranked Texas A&M Aggies.
The maroon-clad visitors from College Station remain in the conversation among the Southeastern Conference’s upper echelon, but will need a win against a highly ranked program like Auburn to assert themselves as legitimate threats to win the Western Conference.
Both teams are seeking to build their resumes as powerhouses in the greater soccer landscape and each have ample opportunities to do so.
Auburn remains one of the hottest programs in the country despite a record of 2-2 in its last four contests. The team is led by sophomore midfielder Anna Haddock. Haddock who has multiple goals this season including a pair of braces. Sophomore Marissa Arias is also a key player as she's second on team in points with 14.
The troubles for the home team lie squarely in generating shots against tougher competition. Across both of Auburn’s losses, the Tigers have been outshot a combined 32-22, with just nine shots going on goal. The team thrives when both sides push pace of play and attack aggressively but has had difficulty when facing defensive stalwarts like the Volunteers and Seminoles.
For Texas A&M, Auburn provides an opportunity to reverse an unfortunate trend on the year: one-score losses to ranked teams. The Aggies have gone 1-4 against Top 25 teams, with their only win coming against a No. 9 Clemson squad in the home opener.
A&M’s losses in those games have all been by just a single goal, giving it a deceptively rough record through the early stretch of this year. After losing to No. 11 Arkansas 1-0 in overtime Thursday, it won’t be surprising if the visitors pull off an upset.
Leading the charge up front for A&M is freshman Maile Hayes, whose five goals and 12 points are both team highs. The Aggies haven’t been particularly high scoring this year, instead getting by on some impressive goaltending performances.
In net for Texas A&M will be junior keeper Kenna Caldwell, whose .805 save percentage is fifth best in the SEC. Caldwell has regularly been tested on the year, with A&M allowing 22 shots and producing just nine of their own against the Razorbacks in Thursday’s contest, but still boasts an impressive .91 goals allowed average.
Auburn will host Texas A&M Sunday, Sept. 26 at 2 p.m. CST and the game will be aired on ESPN+.
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