After a mixed week of SEC results, the Auburn Tigers will be starting their final stretch of games this week with Florida waiting for them at Gainesville before coming back home to welcome the LSU Tigers.
Following last week’s results in SEC play, Auburn’s overall record changed to 6-5-4, and its SEC record changed to 2-3-2. This comes after a victory against Arkansas, a tie against Texas A&M and a defeat against Alabama. Auburn will be aiming to take away two wins from its SEC opponents who both sit last in the standings.
Auburn will want to take greater advantage of its current offensive power but may also want to be more accurate with its shots. In their past three games, the Tigers took 28 shots with 13 of those shots on target, with only three of those being converted.
Defensively, the Tigers have held their opponents to a low 8.4 shots per game and in their last three games, they’ve only conceded three goals. Continuing to standout for Auburn, senior midfielder Anna Haddock leads the team in points with 13, goals with four and assists with five. Fifth year forward/midfielder Sydney Richards follows with 10 points, despite not recording a goal or assist in the last five games.
The Florida Gators are 5-5-4 overall and 1-4-2 in the SEC coming into the match against Auburn, with their only win in conference play coming against LSU. The Gators hold a winning record of 3-2-1 at home for the season but are winless in their last three games following losses against Mississippi State and Arkansas and a draw against Georgia.
The Gators main threat is freshman forward Megan Hinnenkamp, who leads the team in points with 12 and goals with six. Behind her is freshman forward Lena Bailey, who has six points and three goals despite not starting a game this season. The Gators are superb defensively as they only allow 6.5 shots per game and have held their opponents to 12 goals in the 14 games they’ve played throughout the season.
Following the match against Florida, Auburn will face LSU who is 8-6-1 through the season but are 3-4 in conference play with wins coming against Tennessee, Mississippi State and Georgia. The LSU Tigers will face Arkansas before traveling to play Auburn and ending their season at home with Texas A&M.
The LSU Tigers have an abundance of dangerous players on their roster with three players with 10 points or more. Graduate student forward Taylor Dobles, sophomore midfielder Ida Hermannsdottir and senior forward Mollie Baker are all on 10 points with Dobles being the team’s leading goal scorer with five.
Leading the team in assists is freshman forward/midfielder Ava Galligan with five. LSU’s defensive solidity stems from goalkeeper Mollee Swift, who has 55 saves and has only allowed 12 goals.
The Auburn Tigers will travel to Gainesville to play Florida on Thursday, Oct. 19 at 5 p.m. CST on SECN+. For their penultimate game of the season, the Tigers will return home to face LSU on Sunday, Oct. 22 at 4 p.m. CST on SEC Network.
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Hector Hernandez is a freshman from Huntsville, Alabama, majoring in building science. He joined The Plainsman in fall 2023.
