Auburn soccer will open up its SEC Tournament on Sunday afternoon against either Alabama or LSU. The Tigers, who fell down to the No. 6 seed in the SEC following a brutal travel schedule in October creating only two home games, will open up play against the No. 11 seed at 2 PM CST on Sunday.
Karen Hoppa’s squad played both the Crimson Tide and Tigers early in October, taking down LSU in Baton Rouge 4-0 before drawing 1-1 with Alabama at home a few days later. Despite the lopsided result, coach Hoppa made sure to point out LSU has been playing “much, much better since [Auburn] played them in the beginning of the season”.
While the Tigers have had a fantastic season, an early loss in the SEC Tournament may be detrimental to their hopes of reaching the NCAA Tournament. Only 33 teams receive at-large bids to the dance, and Auburn’s late season struggles may sway the committee to look in another direction. One way the Tigers can avoid “sweating out” the bracket reveal is by taking care of business in Pensacola next week.
In order to do that, Auburn will have to win four games in seven days. If the Tigers can take care of business in the opener, they will face off with No. 3 seed Texas, who they did not play during the regular season. The SEC Tournament begins on Sunday, November 3. The Championship is scheduled one week later, Sunday November 10 at 1:30 PM CST. If Auburn can run the table, it will capture its first SEC Tournament Championship since 2002.
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