Sunday, October 18
Auburn, Ala.
5 p.m.
Mississippi State
at
#21 Auburn
State Travels To No. 21 Auburn To Close Final Multi-Match Week
October 17, 2026 | Soccer
AUBURN, Ala. โ With the regular-season nearing its end, Mississippi State will travel to No. 21/24 Auburn on Sunday for a 5 p.m. CT kickoff on SEC Network+.
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The Bulldogs are coming off a loss to Oklahoma on Thursday, while the Tigers tied with Kentucky. It's the last time that State has multiple matches scheduled in the same week in the regular season.
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MSU is currently ranked No. 23 in the TopDrawerSoccer poll, the only time in head coach Kevin O'Brien's career that he has led a team ranked in either national poll. The last time O'Brien took a team to Auburn, his unranked Lipscomb squad put the then-No. 10 Tigers on upset watch. The Bisons took a 2-0 lead early in the second half, but later surrendered a tying goal with 31 seconds to play and the match ended in a draw.
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Auburn boasts one the nation's toughest defensive units to break down. The Tigers have surrendered just four goals all season, and their only losses were 1-0 defeats. Their last three matches have all been against teams that MSU has also played. Both teams tied Kentucky, but Auburn defeated Oklahoma and Tennessee while MSU had a loss and a draw in those matches.
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Back In The Top 25: Nearly a year to the date of their last appearance, the Bulldogs are back in the TopDrawerSoccer Top 25, checking in at No. 23 this week.
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Bounce Back: The Bulldogs have only lost twice this season, and last time they suffered a defeat they responded with a three-goal victory on the road at Ole Miss.
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Nic' Of Time: Eden Nicholson has made a goal live save in each of the last two games. Her stop in the 87th minute against Texas A&M preserved MSU's victory.
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Tiger Throwback: Last time Kevin O'Brien was in Auburn, his Lipscomb team took the then-No. 10 Tigers to overtime and played to a 2-2 draw after leading late.
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Head Coach: James Armstrong | Record at AUB: 13-8-11 (2nd Year) | Career Record: 75-43-29 (8th Year)
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The Bulldogs are coming off a loss to Oklahoma on Thursday, while the Tigers tied with Kentucky. It's the last time that State has multiple matches scheduled in the same week in the regular season.
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MSU is currently ranked No. 23 in the TopDrawerSoccer poll, the only time in head coach Kevin O'Brien's career that he has led a team ranked in either national poll. The last time O'Brien took a team to Auburn, his unranked Lipscomb squad put the then-No. 10 Tigers on upset watch. The Bisons took a 2-0 lead early in the second half, but later surrendered a tying goal with 31 seconds to play and the match ended in a draw.
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Auburn boasts one the nation's toughest defensive units to break down. The Tigers have surrendered just four goals all season, and their only losses were 1-0 defeats. Their last three matches have all been against teams that MSU has also played. Both teams tied Kentucky, but Auburn defeated Oklahoma and Tennessee while MSU had a loss and a draw in those matches.
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Kicking Off
Facing The Former Coach: State will see former head coach James Armstrong, who won an SEC Championship and became the winningest coach in MSU soccer history in 2024. The Tigers also include a former MSU assistant and now on their coaching staff, one former player on the active roster and two signees that did not reach campus.ย
Back In The Top 25: Nearly a year to the date of their last appearance, the Bulldogs are back in the TopDrawerSoccer Top 25, checking in at No. 23 this week.
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Bounce Back: The Bulldogs have only lost twice this season, and last time they suffered a defeat they responded with a three-goal victory on the road at Ole Miss.
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Nic' Of Time: Eden Nicholson has made a goal live save in each of the last two games. Her stop in the 87th minute against Texas A&M preserved MSU's victory.
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Tiger Throwback: Last time Kevin O'Brien was in Auburn, his Lipscomb team took the then-No. 10 Tigers to overtime and played to a 2-2 draw after leading late.
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About Auburn (8-2-4, 4-2-1 SEC)
Rankings: IWSOC โ 21 | TopDrawerSoccer โ 24Head Coach: James Armstrong | Record at AUB: 13-8-11 (2nd Year) | Career Record: 75-43-29 (8th Year)
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Series History
Overall: 6-19-4 | Current Streak: Tied 1 | Home: 6-7-2 | Away: 0-2-12 | Neutral: 0-0-0 | Last Meeting: Sept. 21, 2025, Tied 1-1ย
Notables
The nation's stingiest defense awaits the Bulldogs as Auburn has allowed just four goals, on pace for a school record, and leads the country with a 0.29 goals against average. The Tigers' only two SEC losses were both 1-0 decisions, and they have posted 10 shutouts in 14 matches. Ayana Yapo leads the country with nine shutouts, and Eva Pattison is the reigning SEC Defensive Player of the Week. The Tigers have yet to concede a second-half goal this season. Auburn is unbeaten in its last three matches, which were all against teams MSU has now played while going 0-1-2.ย
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Next Up
The Bulldogs remain on the road for a nationally-televised match next week. State is set to play at LSU on Sunday, Oct. 25 with kickoff scheduled for 2 p.m. CT on SEC Network.ย
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Follow the Bulldogs
For more information on the Bulldog soccer program, follow onย X,ย Facebookย andย Instagramย by searching "HailStateSOC."ย
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Players Mentioned
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