Auburn women’s soccer notes for season opener

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AUBURN, Ala. (auburntigers.com) — Auburn opens the season ranked No. 12 and plays No. 14 Clemson to begin the 2016 campaign on Friday at 7 p.m. at the Auburn Soccer Complex.

• The Tigers were selected to finish third in the SEC, as voted on by the conference coaches. They are one of five teams ranked nationally in the league (No. 7 Florida, No. 8 Texas A&M, No. 22 Ole Miss and No. 24 South Carolina).
• Auburn is set to face one of the most difficult schedules in the nation, facing five ranked teams and two that received votes in the initial preseason poll. The Tigers welcome No. 11 USC, as well as No. 14 Clemson for ranked non-conference foes in 2016.
• Auburn capped its most successful campaign last year with a 16-6-1 record and finished at No. 12 in the polls – their highest ranking ever to end a season.
• Head coach Karen Hoppa has 264 career wins and is one of only 37 coaches to eclipse the 250-win plateau all-time.
• Hoppa is one of only three coaches in the SEC to have won 200 or more matches in their careers.
• Casie Ramsier was listed on the MAC Hermann Trophy Watch List, given annually to the top player in the country. She is just the second player ever to receive such recognition.
• C. Ramsier needs 16 goals to break the all-time scoring record in program history. She had 12 last season, second-most in a single season all-time.
• Brooke Ramsier, Casie’s twin, paced the team with 11 assists from a defensive midfield position. The duo combined for 37 percent of the team’s points last year (45).
• All-SEC Freshman Team honorees from 2015 Sarah Le Beau (goalkeeper) and Taylor Troutman (forward) are expected to again be key cogs for the Tigers. Le Beau touted a 0.99 GAA and tallied 81 saves, while Troutman was fourth on the team in points (11).
• Defensive standouts Kiana Clarke, Haley Gerken and Samantha Solaru (all seniors) return after racking up nine shutouts last year – the third-highest total in program history.
• As a team, the Tigers boast 13 freshman and 18 total underclassmen. In contrast, there are just 11 upperclassmen on the roster, including six seniors.
• Auburn has brought in a pair of transfers to help bolster the roster in redshirt sophomore Britne Holderby (Penn State) and junior Katie Grunder (College of Charleston).
• Three members have already received their degrees in Kiana Clarke, Casie Ramsier and Alyse Scott.
• Sammy Towne returned to her alma mater to take over duties as director of operations. She was an All-SEC performer and amassed 43 wins, 26 shutouts and four NCAA appearances as a defender.