The No. 6 Auburn Tigers and head coach Karen Hoppa kicked off SEC play with a 2-2 tie against the Vanderbilt Commodores tonight. Coming off last week’s 2-0 win against Old Dominion, The Tigers had the momentum heading into this game.
“We’ve got to be better,” Auburn head coach Karen Hoppa said. “We got away from doing the things that make us great, playing through each other and being aggressive. We’ll learn and grow from this and come out stronger next time.”
The last meeting between Auburn and Vanderbilt, back in 2022, ended in a 1-1 tie after the Commodores scored a last-minute goal.
Auburn’s defense struggled at the top of the first half as Vanderbilt dominated Auburn territory. Sophomore Sydney Watts for the Commodores took advantage of this field position and scored the first goal, her fifth score of the season, of the matchup — breaking Auburn’s streak of nearly 750 minutes without allowing a goal.
However, The Tigers responded with a goal from redshirt sophomore Dylan Driver and a goal right up the center by Sydnie Thibodaux.
Thibodaux reflects on her timing of the goal and thinks that’s what the team needed heading into halftime.
“I was just extremely happy that we were able to go up to one in the game, because we fell 1-0 in the first half,” she said.
Vanderbilt came out in the second half with a vengeance. A goal by Abi Brighton for the Commodores left a few unanswered questions for The Tigers. Coach Hoppa expressed dissatisfaction with the team’s performance; specificallly noting the struggle on defense.
“We did not play our best game. We did not start the game very well at all, and you can almost see that goal coming,” Hoppa said.
Hoppa goves credit to Vanderbilt as they proved themselves a worthy opponent tonight. They were aggressive both offensively and defensively, making it difficult for The Tigers to deliver.
Auburn and Vanderbilt combined for 31 shots in the match, but only 10 found the face of goal. The Tigers found four chances from senior Anna Haddock, three from senior Becky Contreras and two from senior Sydnie Thibodaux and sophomore Jordyn Crosby.
Per SEC rules, both teams leave the match earning one point toward the league standings.
Auburn’s record now stands (8-0-1) as it prepares for its second match of SEC play against the Florida Gators (3-1-5) on Sunday at 2:00 p.m. CST.
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Morgan is a junior majoring in journalism. She joined the Plainsman in the fall of 2024.
