Oct. 28, 2005

Box Score

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The Samford University soccer team won its school-record 14th match of the 2005 season on Friday as the Bulldogs used a pair of Lauren Faubion goals to defeat the Belmont Bruins, 2-0, on "Senior Night" at Bulldog Field.

"I thought that we played very well tonight," said Samford head coach Todd Yelton. "We did a great job of keeping possession and we knocked it around quite a bit. I told Lauren at halftime to go score a goal for us and I guess she didn't think one was enough, so she went out and scored two."

Sophomore Rebecca Bohler assisted on both of Faubion's goals and set Samford's single-season assist record with 11.

Seniors Emily Morris and Marian Wagner were each honored prior to match in the final home performances of the collegiate careers. Morris started at goalkeeper and earned a share of the shutout victory along with freshman Cayley Winters. Wagner helped pace the Bulldogs' offensive attack with three shot attempts, two of which were on goal.

"This was the way that I wanted us to end our two seniors' careers here at Bulldog Field," Yelton said. "Hopefully, we'll take this win into the tournament with great confidence as we get ready to play next Friday."

With the win, Samford (14-3-2) closed out its regular season with a near-perfect 9-1 record at Bulldog Field. In their 10 matches at home, the Bulldogs outscored the opposition, 22-4.

The victory also helped this year's Samford squad surpass the 2002 team in total wins with 14. During Coach Yelton's inaugural season in 2002, the Bulldogs rallied for a 13-7-1 overall record.

Samford will begin postseason play on Nov. 4, against either Murray State or Austin Peay in the semifinal round of the 2005 O'Reilly Ohio Valley Conference Tournament begin held in Charleston, Ill. The contest will begin at 12:30 p.m., at Lakeside Field.

In the loss, Belmont (3-12-1) was led Emily Buckner, Kaitlin Thomas and Ali Young.

Buckner and Thomas each recorded one of the Bruins' two shots on goal of the contest, while Young played the second half in goal and recorded a game-high seven saves. It was Young's only playing time of the 2005 season.

"I actually thought that Belmont played really well today," Yelton said. "I know that they didn't have a lot of scoring opportunities, but defensively they were difficult to break down and their players really worked hard against us."

The teams scrapped to a scoreless first half and the opening goal of the match didn't occur until the 70th minute of play.

"I don't think that we played with as much energy in the first half," Yelton said. "We didn't make as many plays as we needed, but I also thought that (Belmont head coach) Lisa Howe did a very good job of having her players organized on the defensive end. They did a great job of limiting our chances in the first half."

After Samford fought for one of its eight corner kicks of the contest, Bohler served up a ball directly in front of the net that Faubion was able to head past Belmont's goalkeeper. The score occurred at exactly 69:39 in the contest and proved to be the game-winner.

With the assist, Bohler moved into sole possession of first place on Samford's single-season assist record with 10.

"I think that Bohler's had a fantastic sophomore year," said Yelton. "She was good as a freshman, but she has definitely grown a lot over the last year and I think that she's going to continue to get better. She's not only comfortable scoring goals, but she enjoys it just as much to set up her teammates."

Less than five minutes later, Bohler increased her record-setting total to 11 assists in one season as she fed Faubion for another goal to make the score of the match 2-0.

On the scoring play, Bohler had possession on the far left wing and served a high 35-yard centering pass to the middle of the box. Faubion, who competed for the D'Feeters Soccer Club last season, outran a Bruin defender and skied towards the net to head the ball past Young.

With her pair of goals on Friday, Faubion improved her season total to six.

The Samford University soccer team will next be in action on Friday, Nov. 4, as the Bulldogs begin play in the 2005 O'Reilly Auto Parts OVC Tournament.

Samford is the top-seeded team in the competition and will square off against either fourth-seed Murray State or the fifth-seeded Austin Peay Lady Govs at 12:30 p.m., in Charleston, Ill.

Samford (14-3-2) def. Belmont (3-12-1), 2-0

BEL 0 0 - 0
SAM 0 2 - 2

Scoring: SAM, Lauren Faubion (5) 69:39 (assist Rebecca Bohler), Lauren Faubion (6) 74:29 (assist Rebecca Bohler); BEL, None.
Saves: SAM, Emily Morris 2; BEL, Micaela Crowley 3, Ali Young 7.
Yellow Cards: None