Having missed the SEC tournament in 2022, Auburn controls its destiny and can return to the tournament with a result against Georgia in Athens in the Tigers' final regular season game.
"Our postseason is in our hands," said head coach Karen Hoppa. "We control our own destiny. Now, it's no easy task. Playing away against a very good Georgia team that has been top-25 a lot of this year presents a tall challenge for sure, but our seniors and our captains know how good it feels to rise to a challenge and overcome it, so we're going to lean on them to instill that fire in the younger players."
After Auburn picked up its fourth conference loss of the season against Florida Thursday, the Tigers had the all-important matchup against LSU Sunday, which they won decisively.
Auburn awoke against LSU on senior night. Behind senior Maddie Simpson’s two goals, the Tigers won 3-0 and earned three conference points, to move into a tie for eighth in the SEC with Vanderbilt.
The Bulldogs have seen success this season and currently sit at 8-4-4 and 4-3-2 in SEC play.
After falling short of the SEC Tournament championship game in 2022 to eventual champions South Carolina in penalty kicks, Georgia sits in fourth place currently in the SEC standings, tied with Texas A&M. Georgia has already locked in its spot in the SEC tournament and has played in the tournament four seasons consecutively.
Coming off a 4-0 loss to South Carolina, playing spoilers for Auburn’s tournament chances will not be the only thing Georgia will fight for as it tries to end a six-game losing streak against the Tigers. Georgia’s last win against the Tigers was in 2015.
The Tigers and Bulldogs come into this game nearly evenly matched statistically on both sides. On offense during SEC play, Auburn has scored 1.1 goals per game, while Georgia has scored 1.2 goals per game. On defense both teams have recorded six shutouts and both teams have allowed 17 total goals scored.
Offensively, Georgia has three players with four or more goals this season. Summer Denigan has five goals while Hannah White has four to her name. But the Bulldogs' biggest offensive threat is Nicole Vernis. With 16 games played and 15 starts, the redshirt senior has five assists and four goals this season to lead Georgia with 13 points.
Auburn will rely on senior goalkeeper Maddie Prohaska, who is third in the SEC in saves with 56 and fourth with 3.29 saves per game. Prohaska recorded her fourth shutout of the season against LSU, and she will need to continue her strong play to help push Auburn into the SEC Tournament.
The Tigers will lay it all on the line in the 28th meeting between Auburn and Georiga. The game will take place in Athens, Georgia, on Thursday, Oct. 26, at 5 p.m. CST on SECN+.
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Craig Noyes is a junior from Kensington, Maryland, majoring in journalism. He joined The Plainsman in January 2023.
Twitter: @craignoyes58
