Auburn Womens Soocer set to take field in the NCAA Tourney tonight!!

[AUSportTalk 4]

Tigers Set For Friday’s First Round NCAA Match With Belmont

Two teams are meeting for the first time in program history

November 13, 2008

AUBURN, Ala. – The Auburn soccer team will be in search of its first

NCAA Tournament win since the 2004 season at 5pm on Friday when it plays

host to Belmont at the Auburn Soccer Complex in a first round NCAA

Tournament match. Auburn, which went 11-8-2 this season, earned an

at-large bid to its third straight and seventh overall NCAA Tournament

while Belmont (13-6-3) is making its inaugural appearance in the

tournament after winning the A-Sun Conference Tournament.

“We know Belmont will be a quality opponent. They defend well and are

very well organized,” Auburn Head Coach Karen Hoppa said. “We think

they will play either a 4-3-3 or a 4-5-1, putting a lot of numbers

behind the ball, and they have a fantastic goalkeeper. It is going to be

one of those tight games where chances are going to be few and far

between and we will have to capitalize on the ones we get.”

Fortunately for Auburn they will trot out two of the best players in

the SEC this season in senior goalkeeper Allison Whitworth and freshman

midfielder Katy Frierson, both of whom were named First Team All-SEC

last week.

Whitworth, from Birmingham, comes into the match with a 1.07 GAA,

fourth-in the SEC, and an Auburn record 119 saves, second-most in the

SEC, having posted seven shutouts.

Frierson, also from Birmingham, led Auburn this season with nine goals

and 25 points, both of which ranked in the top four in the conference,

en route to being named the SEC Freshman of the Year, only the second

Auburn player to garner that award. Thursday afternoon she was named one

of the top freshmen nationally as TopDrawerSoccer.com placed her on its

All-Rookie Second Team.

Auburn will have to contend with a hot Belmont team that is undefeated

in its last six matches (4-0-2) and advanced onto the NCAA Tournament by

winning a pair of shootouts in the last two rounds of its conference

tournament.

“Belmont went on a great run to win their first conference

championship in the A-Sun and this is their first trip to the NCAAs, so

they will be riding a lot of emotion,” Hoppa said.

Auburn’s last NCAA Tournament win came over Clemson in the first

round of the 2004 regional also held in Auburn but it has failed to

advance past the first round in each of its last two appearances,

falling to California, 3-1, in 2006 in Tallahassee, Fla., and 3-1 to

Central Florida in Gainesville, Fla., in 2007.

Joining Auburn and Belmont will be at-large selection and second-seeded

Florida State (14-2-3) out of the ACC and Mississippi Valley State

(10-10-2), the conference champion of the SWAC. They will play at 2pm on

Friday.

Tickets to the first and second round matches are $3 for college

students with ID and under and $10 for adults, with one ticket being

good for both matches on Friday.

MORE QUOTES FROM AUBURN HEAD COACH KAREN HOPPA

On learning its tournament fate…

“It was a great night to see our name on the board and then 15

minutes later we found out we were hosting, which was an absolute shock

to everyone in the room.”

On playing at home…

“We definitely thought we were going to Tallahassee as the NCAA tries

to keep everyone within driving distance, which they define as a

400-mile radius, and we are within that radius to Tallahassee. They did

pass a new rule this year that you can’t play conference teams within

the first and second rounds, which changed things a lot. Last year we

went to Gainesville (Fla.) and we could have played Florida in the

second round, but that is no longer an option and that really limited

the places we could go.”

“It is a huge advantage to play at home. Academically, we don’t

have to miss class and we have such a good academic team that it does

stress them out when they have to miss classes and catch up. We get to

sleep in our own beds and we are familiar with the field. Most

significantly is the crowd. With a 5pm kickoff the fans can come to

soccer and then go to the home-opener for men’s basketball, so we are

hoping for a huge crowd. In 2004 we had a huge crowd for out match

against Clemson and it made a big difference for our girls and it’s a

great opportunity for our fans to see a NCAA Championship match at

home.”

On the Auburn soccer complex…

“We have a great facility and our grounds crew does a great job of

keeping the field ready.”

On having the regional in Auburn…

“Belmont winning their conference played a huge factor because they

are too far to drive to Tallahassee but all three of the teams coming

here are within the 400-mile radius of Auburn.”

On the health of Auburn…

“We are fresh and rested. We were able to take care of some bumps and

bruises and we had a really good scrimmage on Sunday night.”

On keys to Friday night’s match with Belmont…

“We have to be really patient offensively. Our girls can’t

frustrated and start forcing balls. The temptation is to force the ball

forward but then you are pressing it right into their numbers. We have

to use our width, which is a strength of ours. Our outside backs of Jenn

Johnson, Julie King and Heather Havron will be used in our offense quite

a lot and then our forwards are good at getting wide. The purpose of

that is to stretch out a defense and create more space for the players

up the middle and that will be the key. “