Sept. 11, 2008

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The Samford University soccer team will square off against the Alabama Crimson Tide for the first time in school history Friday, as the in-state rivals located less than 60 miles apart, will meet at 7 p.m., at the UA Soccer Complex in Tuscaloosa, Ala.

"It's hard to believe this is the first time we're playing Alabama in the regular season," said Samford head coach Todd Yelton. "In the past, I guess the dates just never really worked out, but this year it did, and it's always an exciting time when you play Alabama. Everyone knows, especially in this state, that a good measuring stick for a program is how you do against the SEC (Southeastern Conference).

Samford (1-4) heads into Friday's non-conference matchup looking to bounce back from a heart-breaking 1-0 double-overtime loss to Arkansas on Sunday. In the hard-fought defeat, the Razorbacks scored the game-winning goal with only 2:22 remaining in the championship match of the 2008 adidas Gamecock Classic held in Jacksonville, Ala.

Earlier in the four-team tournament which hosted by Jacksonville State University, the Bulldogs played stifling defense in a 1-0 shutout victory over Mercer.

All four of Samford's losses this season have come against top-notch competition. So far this year, the Bulldogs have come up short in decisions versus the nation's eighth-ranked Texas, No. 24 Milwaukee, Marquette and Arkansas. Marquette, with a 4-1 record on the season, is the 10th-ranked team in the Great Lakes Region.

"We've obviously played a very demanding non-conference schedule this season," Yelton said. "We can talk about that all day, but in the end, we're 1-4 right now and are coming off a very difficult loss to Arkansas. The big thing for us now is to see how we respond to adversity. We will need to be focused on the task at hand."

Alabama (1-2-1) enters Friday's in-state duel with aspirations of snapping its current two-match losing streak.

Last week, the Crimson Tide traveled across the country to California for a pair of tough matchups against No. 21 Cal State-Fullerton and top-ranked USC. On Friday, Alabama dropped a 3-1 decision against Cal State-Fullerton before losing 7-1 to USC on Sunday.

The Crimson Tide opened its 2008 campaign with a 1-1 draw versus Memphis on Aug. 29. Two days later, Alabama picked up its lone win of the season with a 3-0 blowout victory at home against Jacksonville State.

"I know Alabama will be a difficult task for us," said Yelton. "Alabama is a really good team and they are better than people realize. Earlier this season, they played Memphis who is a really good team and then they went out to California and played the No. 1 team in the country. So they've also played against some really good teams this year."

During the 2006 season, Samford and Alabama met in an exhibition contest Aug. 19, held at the UA Soccer Complex. In a highly-competitive match, the Bulldogs rallied for a 1-0 win as Kim Matthews scored the game-winning goal during the 63rd minute of play. Samford's goalkeeper Cayley Winters earned a shutout in the victory.

Following Samford's first regular-season meeting with Alabama on Friday, the Bulldogs will next be in action Sunday at 4 p.m., as they square off against intra-city rival UAB at the Blazers' West Campus Field.

GameTracker - Samford at Alabama