Aug. 31, 2003

Box Score

Photo Gallery

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. - Freshman Kim Matthews scored a pair of goals as Samford overcame heat and a one-goal deficit for a 2-1 victory over Chattanooga Sunday afternoon at Finley Stadium.

Matthews first goal in the 15th minute leveled the match at a goal apiece after Samford earned a corner kick. The corner was cleared to the midfield where Heidi Kearns played the ball to Matthews on the left flank. Matthews' right-footed shot beat the Chattanooga keeper to the far post.

The match remained tied at one at halftime. UTC held an 8-5 advantage in shots in the first 45 minutes. Samford goal keeper Crystal Royall made four key saves in the opening half to keep the match tied.

Four minutes into the second half, Lindsay Shanks was fouled 35-yards from goal. Shanks' free kick found Sharon Young, who headed the ball to Matthews, who headed the ball past UTC goal keeper Katie O'Donnell.

The Bulldogs had a golden opportunity to increase their lead but O'Donnell made a save to rob Shanks of an insurance goal a few moments later. UTC's best opportunity to tie the match came in the 70th minute. Amelie Fogelberg's header off a corner kick hit the side netting of the Samford goal. Minutes later Melyna Valdez hit the top pf the net with a free kick. Royall finished the match with four saves while facing 11 shots.

UTC's Diana Jallo scored the match's first goal in the 14th minute off an assist from Elfa Erlingsdottier. Jallo's shot has partially blocked by Royall but it found its way into the net to give the Lady Mocs a brief 1-0 lead. Erlingsdottier received two second half yellow cards forcing UTC to play a man down for the final five minutes of the match.

"There are pretty wins and there are ugly wins," said Samford head coach Todd Yelton. "Today was not pretty. The conditions were very difficult, but we battled back and hopefully we grew up a little bit. UTC played extremely well and won every ball in the first half. Scoring early in the second half took a lot of pressure off of us especially on such a hot day. I am proud of the way we responded to trailing early, we just needed to play a little better in the beginning."

Matthews now leads the team with three goals. She has scored the first Samford goal in each of the Bulldogs first two games. Of Samford's eight goals so far this season, six have been scored by freshmen.

The Bulldogs will return to action on Friday night at 7 p.m. Samford hosts Southern Mississippi at Bulldog Field. The game will be broadcast with live video on the internet by Samford Vision.