Auburn, Ala. – The Hofstra Women's Soccer team will take on Auburn in the first round of the NCAA Tournament at 5 p.m. CST/6 p.m. EST on Friday at Auburn Soccer Complex.
The game will be broadcast live on SEC Network+ and will be available via live stats. Links to game coverage can be found on this page and the Hofstra Women's Soccer schedule page.
The Pride (15-3-2, 9-0 CAA) earned an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament after dethroning defending Colonial Athletic Association champion Northeastern, 2-1, in Sunday's title game to complete a clean sweep of the CAA. The victory extended Hofstra's win streak to 12 games and allowed the Pride to become just the second team in CAA history to go unbeaten and untied in conference play and go on to win the conference championship.
Senior
Kristin Desmond was named the tournament MVP, becoming just the third player in CAA history – and first since 1999 – to be named CAA Player of the Year and tournament MVP.
Freshman Lucy Porter opened the scoring just 84 seconds into championship game, marking her second goal of the tournament after she netted the game-winner in the semifinal against William & Mary. After Northeastern had knotted the score at one, junior Jenn Buoncore decided the game in the 32nd minute with a header off a Monique Iannella free kick.
Auburn (7-6-5, 4-2-4 SEC) earned an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament after being eliminated from the SEC Tournament with a 1-0 quarterfinal loss to Florida. The Tigers took a 1-0 win over the Gators in the regular season, also picking up conference wins over Alabama, Kentucky and eventual champion Texas A&M.
Seniors Kristen Dodson and Caroline Bado were named First-Team All-SEC, while Alyssa Malonson earned All-Freshman Team. Dodson leads the team with eight goals and 19 points. In net, Sarah Le Beau has played every minute for the Tigers, posting a .741 save percentage and 1.14 goals-against average.
This will be the first-ever meeting between Hofstra and Auburn. The winner of this first-round matchup will advance to take on the winner of No. 1 Stanford vs. Utah Valley.
