Nov. 5, 2009

GREENSBORO, N.C. - The Samford soccer team is only two wins shy of earning its third NCAA Tournament appearance in five seasons. On Friday at 4 p.m. (CST), the Bulldogs will face the College of Charleston Cougars in the semifinal round of the 2009 Southern Conference Tournament. The winner of the four-team competition will receive an automatic berth in the NCAA Tournament.

Host UNC Greensboro and fourth-seed Davidson are scheduled to meet at 6:30 p.m., in the other semifinal matchup.

Samford (12-1-4, 7-1-3 SoCon) enters this weekend's prestigious postseason event as the third-seeded team in the tournament. The Bulldogs finished the 2009 regular season in a tie for second place in the SoCon standings, but lost the tiebreaker with College of Charleston (12-6-1, 8-3 SoCon) for the No. 2 seed.

The Cougars handed Samford its lone loss of the season on Sept. 27. In the hard-fought 1-0 setback, College of Charleston's Alyssa Bearden scored the game-winning goal during the 55th minute of play. The score was the first goal allowed by the Bulldogs this season. Samford went seven matches and 730 minutes without giving up its first goal in 2009.

Since suffering their 1-0 loss at College of Charleston, the Bulldogs have gone undefeated in nine-consecutive matches. During the regular season ending streak, Samford compiled a 6-0-3 overall record.

The Bulldogs' Amber Cress was a key factor in the team's successes down the stretch. In the final nine matches of the season, Samford's Co-SoCon Player of the Year scored four goals and added six assists for a team-high 14 points. Cress, the Bulldogs' speedy senior forward from Zionsville, Ind., also registered a pair of key game-winning goals against first-place UNC Greensboro and Georgia Southern.

Samford's defense has also put together a record-breaking season in 2009. So far this year, the Bulldogs have outscored their opponents 29-6 and are well on pace to shatter the school's record of fewest goals allowed in a season. Samford's current record in the category is 13, which was set in 2005.

The Bulldogs' defense has already registered 11 shutouts this year and is ranked first in the nation in save percentage (.914) and second in the nation in goals-against average (0.33).

Goalkeeper Alyssa Whitehead, the backbone of Samford's defense, heads into the weekend as the No. 3-ranked player in the nation in goals-against average (0.34) and the No. 5-ranked player in the nation in save percentage (0.9). The Bulldogs' 6-foot-3 sophomore from Hattiesburg, Miss., has only allowed six goals this season on 156 shots faced.

College of Charleston enters this weekend's SoCon Tournament as the second-seeded squad in the four-team competition. The Cougars have been defeated in two of their previous three matches, but are coming off a key 1-0 victory at The Citadel on Oct. 29.

From Sept. 16 through Oct. 18, College of Charleston proved to be one of the hottest teams in the nation as they compiled a 9-1 record. The Cougars' lone loss during the stretch was a 1-0 setback against Furman on Oct. 4.

College of Charleston boasts a well-balanced offensive attack this season. The Cougars have had a total of 16 players record points this year, including 10 that have scored goals. Junior defender Annie Pease leads the way with five goals and 10 points, while sophomore midfielder Hannah Gmerek has also tallied 10 points on three goals and four assists.

Freshman goalkeeper Katie Tate has only allowed three goals for College of Charleston this season. She owns a 3-1-1 overall record and a team-best 0.43 goals-against average.

Samford will square off against College of Charleston for only the fourth time in school history Friday. Last season, the new conference rivals met twice during the year with the Bulldogs earning a 1-0-1 record. Samford defeated the Cougars 1-0 during the regular season and then advanced past College of Charleston in last year's SoCon Tournament via a penalty-kick shootout.

This season, on Sept. 27, the Cougars handed the Bulldogs their lone loss of the 2009 campaign. Heading into Friday's SoCon Tournament showdown the all-time series record is deadlocked at 1-1-1.

Live Stats - College of Charleston vs. Samford