By Mike Szvetitz
Sports Editor, Opelika-Auburn News
Published: May 8, 2008

The first time the Auburn High girls soccer team made it to the Class 6A Final Four in 2004, it was a great experience.

Even though the Tigers lost that semifinal game, it wasn’t all bad for head coach Mac Matthews.

Now, it’s a different story.

Today, the Tigers will play in their fifth consecutive Final Four match at the Huntsville Soccer Complex against Enterprise. The match is slated to begin at 6 p.m.

In the four previous trips to Huntsville, Auburn has never made it past the semifinal round. Ever.

“The first time it’s just part of the journey,” Matthews said of losing the game before the state championship. “The second time, it’s disappointing. The third time, it’s frustration. The fourth time, it’s just beyond words.”

And that’s why Matthews and the Tigers aren’t saying anything about “what could happen” and are just focused on what they need to do.

“We’re not talking about state championships,” Matthews said. “We’re not talking about Saturday. We’re just talking about (tonight’s) game and how to beat Enterprise.”

It’s a goal that no other team has been able to pull off this year. Enterprise enters tonight’s match perfect on the season.

“They are a very confident team,” Matthews said. “I’ve been able to scout them and get reports from other coaches. They are built around speed up top and have good midfielders that supply the ball to the front line.

“But they haven’t played the schedule we have. I don’t know if they’re ready for the attack we’re going to bring.”

If it sounds like Matthews has a take-no-prisoners attitude, it’s because he does.

He and his team, led by five seniors — Jenna Strother (who signed with Ole Miss), Kristen Phillips, Meg Giles, Lauren Boldt and MK Reves — want to break Auburn’s Final Four losing streak.

That’s why they are already in Huntsville. The Tigers left out from Auburn on Thursday morning to get to the site of the Final Four in time to have a practice and get acclimated to the surroundings.

Matthews is convinced that a change of pace is what the Tigers need to get over the hump.

“We’ve changed some things,” the coach said. “For us, it’s about changing our mentality. We’ve gone into previous (Final Fours) not knowing what we were in for — not knowing the stadium, the field, the other teams. Other times, we’ve known what was going on and we focused too far ahead.

“This time, we’ve focused on getting the girls ready for the first game ... and shrinking the mistakes. So we’re here with a different training regimen. We’re leaving early to get the girls used to where we are and to get some training in and get them to see the field.”

Anything to win. Which the Tigers (14-5-3) are confident in doing.

“We’ve had some (matches) in the past, where if everything goes right and we play perfect, we have a chance to win,” Matthews said. “This (match vs. Enterprise) is not like that. This is a game where I feel they are going to have to beat us.

“We want this really, really bad.”

Tonight’s second half will be broadcast and joined in progress by WAUD 1230 AM at approximately 6:45 p.m. If the Tigers make it to Saturday’s state championship final, WAUD will broadcast the entire match.

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