Oct. 23, 2009

Box Score

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The Samford soccer team earned its most decisive victory in over two years Friday as the Bulldogs tallied a 5-0 win against the Georgia Southern Eagles in Southern Conference action. The match was held on Senior Night at Bulldog Field and seniors Amber Cress and Natalie Fleming scored the first two goals of the contest.

Samford (11-1-3, 6-1-2 SoCon) jumped out to an early 4-0 first-half lead as Leah Leppert also tallied a pair of goals in the opening period and Hilary Samuels added a second-half score.

Friday's win was the Bulldogs' most lopsided victory since a similar 5-0 triumph against Tennessee Tech on Oct. 19, 2007. Samford extended its undefeated streak to seven-consecutive matches and remained undefeated at Bulldog Field in 23-straight contests.

Samford outshot Georgia Southern (1-15, 1-8 SoCon) 21-7 and had 25 players earn game action. The Bulldogs' starting goalkeeper Alyssa Whitehead earned her ninth shutout of the 2009 season. Samford is currently ranked first in the nation in both goals-against average and save percentage.

The Bulldogs' Cress initiated the scoring barrage with her seventh goal of the season during the seventh minute of play. On the score, Sarah Wilkinson played a perfect ball up ahead of the Georgia Southern defense. Cress then sped her way to the ball and scored on a one-v-one with the goalkeeper to the top left corner of the net.

With the goal, Cress moved into a tie for third place on Samford's all-time goals-scored list. The Bulldogs' senior from Zionsville, Ind., only needs four more goals to become the school's leader in the category.

Samford's Fleming, also a senior, tallied the second score of the match eight minutes later to increase the Bulldogs' lead to 2-0. On the goal, Paige Lanter centered a pass just outside the box to Cindy Spiker who then squeezed past a pair of defenders and fed the ball up ahead to Fleming. Samford's native of Evansville, Ind., then scored the goal in the bottom left corner of the net.

On a night when the Bulldogs' seniors were honored prior to the match with a special Senior Night presentation, Samford's junior class tallied the final three goals.

Leppert only played 23 minutes in the first half, but tallied two goals to give the Bulldogs a 4-0 halftime advantage. Samford's native of Germantown, Tenn., the reigning SoCon Player of the Week, scored on the first possession that she was in the match. Leppert also scored during the 42nd minute of play.

The Bulldogs' Samuels tacked on the fifth goal of the match six minutes into the second period. The score was her second of the season.

Friday's match marked Samford's Breast Cancer Awareness night and the players wore one-of-a-kind Pink jerseys. The jerseys were sold via a silent auction and over $1,500 was donated to the Susan G. Komen Foundation.

The Samford University soccer team will next be in action Sunday at 2 p.m., as the Bulldogs close out their 2009 home schedule with another key SoCon matchup against the Davidson Wildcats. Samford will look to avenge a 3-0 loss at Davidson last season.