This coming Sunday, the Auburn Tigers (5-2-2) will face off against No. 12 Mississippi State Bulldogs (7-1-1), seeking their second conference win of the season.
Auburn’s Friday matchup against Texas A&M remained scoreless until the 84th minute, during which Olivia Woodson was able to find the back of the net to score the only goal on either side for the duration of the game.
“We had a lot of shots, but we were having trouble putting them into the back of the net, so I was just trying my best to get on the end of it to put one away,” stated Woodson, regarding her goal assisted by Erin Flurey.
“It was one of those games where we were creating lots of chances again," first-year head coach James Armstrong explained. "It can be frustrating to not see any of those go in, but thankfully, our girls kept doing what they were doing to create those opportunities, and they never stopped believing that we’d get one in the back of the net.”
This matchup will be a homecoming for Armstrong, as he was the Bulldogs’ head coach for six seasons before taking the role of head coach at Auburn. Armstrong saw great success in Starkville, most notably in the 2024 season, in which he led the Bulldogs to a perfect 10-0-0 conference record. This not only helped bolster the team to an SEC championship, a third straight NCAA tournament appearance, and a second consecutive Sweet 16 appearance, but it also contributed to Armstrong earning SEC Coach of the Year honors.
Defensively, Auburn held strong, allowing only a single shot after their goal late in the second half, contributing to the Tigers’ sixth clean sheet of the season. The Tigers’ defense will need to remain diligent to stop Mississippi State’s offense, which has yet to score less than three goals in their last four matchups, including No. 1 ranked Tennessee.
Mississippi State is also going into the matchup coming off a conference victory after defeating Texas 3-0 on the road. All three scores occurred in the second half, with Ally Perry scoring first and freshman Laila Murillo scoring back-to-back goals to close out the game. “I’m so proud of the performance tonight from the group… the mentality all week was, ‘How were we going to respond?’. It was something we were very intentional about, and tonight it was shown on the field,” said head coach Nick Zimmerman, referring to their mindset following up their victory against Tennessee. This is Zimmerman’s first time in the role of head coach, seeking to follow Armstrong’s legacy in Starkville after climbing the ladder and eventually being promoted from associate head coach. Zimmerman has had an impressive start to his head coaching career, getting the Bulldogs off to a fast start in 2025 with two ranked wins, along with a perfect 2-0 start to conference play.
The Tigers and the Bulldogs will play at 6:00 P.M. on September 21, 2025, in Starkville, MS. This game will be streaming on SECN+, with radio coverage available on WEGL 91.1.
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Braden is a freshman majoring in Aviation Management. He started with the Plainsman in fall 2025.
