Oct. 24, 2005

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The Samford University soccer team will attempt to extend its winning streak to five-consecutive matches on Tuesday as the Bulldogs square off against the Birmingham-Southern Panthers at 7 p.m., at the BSC Soccer Park.

Samford (12-3-2) heads into Tuesday's intra-city rivalry looking to maintain its positive momentum after defeating Austin Peay, 4-1, on Sunday.

With the win, the Bulldogs claimed their third-straight Ohio Valley Conference regular-season championship and reeled off a fourth-consecutive victory. Samford completed its conference schedule with a 7-2 record and will be the top-seeded team in the upcoming OVC Tournament.

Birmingham-Southern (6-9-1) enters Tuesday's match with hopes of rebounding from a hard-fought 1-0 Big South Conference loss to Liberty on Saturday. The defeat occurred on the Panthers' "Senior Day" and dropped the team to 2-4 in the conference.

Since picking up a 2-1 victory over Winthrop on Oct. 7, Birmingham-Southern has lost four of its previous five matches and has been outscored 13-5.

The Panthers have scored a total of 19 goals this season and are being led by sophomore Caitlin Gordon. Gordon currently paces Birmingham-Southern in both goals (6) and assists (5). She attended the same high school as Samford's junior defender Shay Helmbock.

Gordon and Helmbock were schoolmates at Carmel High School in Carmel, Ind.

Samford has outscored its opponents 31-9 this season and is being led in scoring by sophomore forward Heather Birdsell.

Birdsell, a 2004 first-team All-OVC performer, currently leads the Bulldogs in both goals (7) and points (19). Samford's native of Plano, Texas, scored a pair of goals in the team's decisive 4-1 victory over Austin Peay on Sunday. The multi-goal performance was the first of her collegiate career.

The cross-town rivalry between Samford and Birmingham-Southern began during the Bulldogs' inaugural season of 1997.

The teams split the first two matchups in 1997 and 1998, and then fought to a 1-1 draw in 1999. The rivalry then took a two-year hiatus and resumed during the 2002 campaign. In only Coach Yelton's second game as Samford's head coach, the Bulldogs posted a lopsided 3-0 victory over Birmingham-Southern that season.

Samford went on to win the 2003 matchup, 1-0, but fell 1-0 in contest held at Bulldog Field a year ago.

The Samford University soccer team will attempt to increase its lead in its all-time series against the Birmingham-Southern Panthers on Tuesday, as the intra-city foes face off in a non-conference match scheduled to begin at 7 p.m., at the BSC Soccer Park.