Sept. 3, 2009

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The Samford University soccer team will square off against the Texas State Bobcats for the first time in school history Friday as the nonconference foes are scheduled to meet at 7 p.m., at Bulldog Field. The contest marks the beginning of the 2009 Samford Bulldog Invitation, which also features Tennessee Tech.

"We strive to play a tough nonconference schedule and Texas State is a part of that," said Samford head coach Todd Yelton. "We want to play quality teams week in and week out and that's to get us prepared for our very tough Southern Conference schedule. The SoCon is such a demanding league and there have already been some outstanding results this year. UNC Greensboro beat Duke and they played top-ranked North Carolina to a 1-0 game, so we have to get prepared for those tough conference matches."

Samford (2-0-1) will conclude its four-match season-opening homestand Friday. The Bulldogs opened their 2009 campaign with a 0-0 draw against 25th-ranked Auburn and then compiled back-to-back 3-0 victories over Alabama and Francis Marion.

In its season-opener versus Auburn, Samford set the school's all-time attendance record with 1,264 fans at Bulldog Field. The Bulldogs are averaging 741 fans per home match this season.

Samford's offensive attack this season has been led by senior Amber Cress and sophomore Sarah Wilkinson. Both of the aforementioned players have tallied two goals apiece, while Cress has also added a pair of assists.

Cress, the Bulldogs' speedy forward from Zionsville, Ind., has scored 18 goals in her collegiate career and is currently tied for fifth place on Samford's all-time goals-scored list. She is currently deadlocked with former Bulldog-great Heather Birdsell for the fifth-place position. Marian Wagner holds Samford's all-time goals record with 26 career scores.

The Bulldogs' Alyssa Whitehead has not allowed a goal this season in 279 minutes of action. Samford's 6-foot-3 goalkeeper from Hattiesburg, Miss., has already compiled 13 saves and a pair of shutouts this year. Last season, Whitehead tallied four shutouts as a true freshman.

Texas State (1-2) heads into Friday's contest with aspirations of snapping its current two-match losing streak. After opening the season with a 2-0 home victory against St. Mary's on Aug. 22, the Bobcats have dropped consecutive matches versus UC Irvine and UC Riverside.

On Aug. 28, Texas State fell short to UC Irvine 2-1, and then suffered a 1-0 overtime loss to UC Riverside on Sunday.

The Bobcats' Britney Curry has scored all three of the team's goals this season. Texas State's junior forward from Cypress, Texas, registered a two-goal performance against St. Mary's and then added the Bobcats' lone score on the road versus UC Irvine.

"Texas State is a very good team," Yelton said. "They've been to the NCAA Tournament for several years in a row and last year they played a 5-2 game against Texas A&M. Last week, they went out on the road and played two very talented teams in California in UC Irvine and UC Riverside, and played them to one-goal games, so I think Texas State is definitely a very quality team."

Texas State finished the 2009 campaign with a 13-4-4 overall record and an unblemished 7-0-2 mark in Southland Conference play. The Bobcats earned an automatic berth in the 2008 NCAA Tournament and were defeated by Texas A&M, 5-2.

Following Friday's nonconference matchup against Texas State, the Samford University soccer team will next be in action Thursday at 7 p.m., as the Bulldogs face off against their cross-town rivals, the UAB Blazers. The highly-anticipated match will be held at UAB's West Campus Field.

GameTracker - Texas State at Samford