Aug. 14, 2009

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The Samford University soccer team will kick off competitive play in its 2009 fall schedule Saturday at 1 p.m., as the Bulldogs travel to Memphis, Tenn., for an exhibition matchup against the Memphis Lady Tigers. The contest will be played at Echles Field.

"This exhibition match is a part of the overall evaluation period for us," said Samford head coach Todd Yelton. "We're still preparing for the beginning of the regular season and it will be good to give our players an opportunity to face off against some different competition. It will be especially good for the freshmen as they go up against one of the best teams in the country."

Saturday will mark Samford's lone preseason exhibition of the 2009 campaign. The Bulldogs will officially begin their regular-season slate of matches Aug. 23 at 6 p.m., as they host the Auburn Tigers at Bulldog Field.

Samford's expectations are high for the 2009 campaign. The Bulldogs return all 11 starters from last year's team that turned in an 8-1-2 conference record and advanced to the semifinal round of the Southern Conference Tournament. Samford's talent-laden roster will also boast 10 additional returning players as well as seven highly-touted incoming freshmen.

As they head into the 2009 season, the Bulldogs return 95 percent of their goal-scoring production and 83 percent of their assist production from a year ago.

"This last week of practice has been really positive for us," said Yelton. "The players have all worked very hard. We have a few players with bumps and bruises that probably won't play against Memphis, but that's normal for this time of year and they should get better as time goes on. All in all, the preseason practices have been very positive for us."

Memphis heads into the 2009 campaign with aspirations of becoming the first Conference USA program to win three-consecutive conference championships. This year also marks the 10th season for Head Coach Brooks Monaghan, who is six wins away from 100 career wins.

"It's always going to be a competitive match when we play Memphis," Yelton said. "(Memphis head coach) Brooks (Monaghan) and I are good friends and we talk a lot throughout the season about things. As crazy as it sounds, you really do want to beat your friends, because at least then you'll have bragging rights for the rest of the year. It will definitely be a quality match and Brooks does it right up there."

Last year, Memphis completed the season with an impressive 15-5-2 overall record and an 8-2-1 mark against C-USA opponents. The Lady Tigers qualified for their second-straight NCAA Tournament and dropped a hard-fought 1-0 decision to Illinois in the opening round of the 64-team championship.

Following its exhibition match against Samford, Memphis will open regular season play on Aug. 21 against LSU in Baton Rouge, La., before returning to Memphis, Tenn., for a home contest against Arkansas-Little Rock at Mike Rose Soccer Complex.

"Memphis is a quality opponent," Yelton said. "They've won Conference USA in each of the last two years and they've gone to the NCAA Tournament, so this will give us a great opportunity to evaluate our team. It will also help us to see what we need to work on before we play host to Auburn next Sunday night."

Samford owns a 3-0 all-time record against Memphis. In their last regular-season meeting, the Bulldogs earned a 1-0 victory in Birmingham, Ala., on Sept. 8, 2007. Samford also earned respective wins of 1-0 and 2-1 in 2006 and 2005.

Saturday's exhibition contest between Samford and Memphis will begin at 1 p.m., at Echles Field in Memphis, Tenn.

GameTracker - Samford at Memphis