Aug. 28, 2008

MILWAUKEE, Wis. - The Samford University soccer team will continue its eight-game, season-opening road swing with a pair of non-conference matches versus Milwaukee and Marquette this weekend. The Bulldogs square off against Milwaukee at 7 p.m., Friday, followed by a 12:30 p.m., matchup versus Marquette on Sunday.

Samford (0-1) heads into Friday's game looking to rebound from last week's 4-0 season-opening loss to No. 8 Texas. The eighth-ranked Longhorns were the Bulldogs' highest-ranked opponent since squaring off against No. 4 Pepperdine in the second round of the 2005 NCAA Tournament.

With its loss to No. 8 Texas last week, Samford was defeated in a season opener for the first time since 2004.

In their first game of the 2004 campaign, the Bulldogs suffered a 3-1 loss on the road against Southern Miss. Since then, Samford earned consecutive season-opening victories over Wofford 3-0, Florida International 3-1 and Georgia Southern 1-0, from 2005-07. The Bulldogs' all-time season-opening record is 8-4.

Milwaukee (2-0) enters the game as the No. 6-ranked team in the Great Lakes Region by SoccerBuzz.com, and has opened the season with wins against Big Ten opponents Wisconsin 3-0 and Ohio State 4-3. With the victories, Milwaukee extended its unbeaten streak versus Big Ten foes to six games (4-0-2).

In its 4-3 win against Ohio State on Wednesday, Milwaukee's Nicole Sperl tallied the game-winning goal during the 89th minute of play. The Panthers' sophomore midfielder from Wauwatosa, Wis., scored the deciding goal on a penalty kick.

Samford will face another regionally-ranked opponent Sunday as the Bulldogs meet the Marquette Golden Eagles at 12:30 p.m.

Marquette (1-0) is the 12th-ranked team in the Great Lakes Region and is coming off a 1-0 victory against Loyola-Chicago last week. In the shutout win, the Golden Eagles' Kelly Wepking scored the game-winning goal during the 79th minute of play. The win was Marquette's fourth straight season-opening victory.

Samford has never faced either of this weekend's opponents. The Bulldogs are 0-2 all-time against Big Ten opponents and their matchup versus Marquette will be their first against a BIG EAST foe.

The Samford University soccer team will continue its arduous eight-game, season-opening road trip Friday at 7 p.m., as the Bulldogs face off against the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee in the 2008 Milwaukee Cup held at Engelmann Field.

GameTracker - Samford at Milwaukee
GameTracker - Samford at Marquette