Natalie Fleming Class: Senior Hometown: Evansville, Ind. High School: Mater Dei HS Height: 5-3 Position: Forward Birthdate: 11/03/1987 Experience: 3VL Major: Family Studies

Possesses great leadership tools . . . strong personality . . . shows no fear on the field . . . expects a lot out of her teammates and makes the team better . . . trains hard and leads by example . . . excellent at maintaining possession of the ball despite heavy pressure . . . very composed player.

Natalie Fleming

2008 (junior): Earned playing time in 20 of the Bulldogs' 21 matches and started in 18 contests . . . logged 1,294 minutes of game action and rattled off 20 shot attempts, 10 of which were on goal . . . scored a key goal in Samford's 4-2 victory against Chattanooga (Oct. 30) . . . tallied an assist in the Bulldogs' one-sided 3-0 win versus Furman (Oct. 10) . . . was one of only 24 recipients of the prestigious Coleman Lew Leadership Award, which is presented jointly by the Southern Conference and Coleman Lew and Associates, Inc. . . . the honor is given to student-athletes who have earned grade-point averages of over 3.5 . . . named to Samford's prestigious Dean's List for achieving a stellar 3.64 GPA in family studies . . . member of the SoCon's Fall All-Conference Academic team . . . inducted into Samford's elite chapter of the Chi Alpha Sigma College Athlete Honor Society . . . earned her third varsity letter.

Natalie Fleming

2007 (sophomore): Scored the game-winning goal in the team's key overtime victory against cross-town rival UAB (Sept. 23) . . . also tallied game-winning goals versus Ohio Valley Conference-opponents UT Martin (Sept. 28) and Eastern Illinois (Oct. 26) . . . played in all 21 of the Bulldogs' games and earned starts in 12 contests . . . logged 994 minutes of playing time and finished the season tied for the team's lead with three game-winning goals . . . scored four goals and added two assists for a total of 10 points . . . attempted 16 shots with 10 being on-goal for an impressive .625 shots-on-goal percentage . . . tallied a season-high 75 minutes of playing time in the Bulldogs' semifinal OVC Tournament victory against Eastern Illinois (Nov. 9) . . . earned her second varsity letter.

2006 (freshman): Earned playing time in 15 of the Bulldogs' 18 matches and made five starts as a true freshman . . . led the team in shots-on-goal percentage as six of her nine shot attempts were on target . . . tallied a season-high three shot attempts in Samford's 3-1 victory against OVC-opponent Eastern Kentucky (Sept. 29) . . . played a season-high 63 minutes versus UT Martin (Oct. 13) . . . earned her first varsity letter.

Natalie Fleming

High School: Competed for the Carmel United Soccer Club, where she led the Cyclones to three Indiana state championships and a trio of Region II semifinals . . . led the Cyclones to a No. 5 national ranking and tournament championship titles at the Disney Showcase and Crossroads Showcase . . . played on the Indiana ODP state team and was a member of the Regional Pool . . . competed at Mater Dei High School, where she served as team captain in 2003 and 2005 . . . was a four-time All-City, All-Conference and All-District performer . . . earned 2005 second-team All-State honors . . . holds the MDHS record in career points and career assists . . . graduated magna cum laude . . . received academic All-City accolades all four years . . . earned All-State academic honors twice.

Personal: Born Nov. 3, 1987 . . . daughter of Phil and Lisa Fleming . . . majoring in family studies with a minor in Spanish.

ONE-ON-ONE WITH FLEMING
I can't imagine going a week without: texting Hilary Samuels
I have to admit, I am really good at: karaoke
Favorite place to eat: Little Caesars Pizza with Hilary after late practices
Favorite musical group: Radiohead
Favorite actor: Bill Murray

SENIOR SPOTLIGHT

My favorite Samford memory is:
Playing against LSU in the 2007 NCAA Tournament at Florida State. Even though we lost in double overtime, I was still extremely proud of the team. It showed that Samford soccer is definitely a force to be reckoned with.

The things I'll miss the most about Samford soccer is:
My teammates and the coaching staff. I'll also miss is the competition. Although it is tiring to battle for your spot day in and day out, I've always been a competitor and will continue to be throughout my life.

The most important thing I can tell incoming freshmen is:
Come in fit! More importantly, realize that Samford soccer is more than just the games, practices, and 6 a.m., weights. The lessons this program teaches you reach way beyond the soccer field. Never forget our program is profoundly different from that of any other school. We are family and never take that for granted.