Nov. 6, 2005

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CHARLESTON, Ill. - The 2005 Samford University soccer team made history on Sunday as the Bulldogs' earned the school's first-ever berth in the NCAA College Cup by defeating the Eastern Illinois Panthers, 1-0, at Lakeside Field.

With the win, Samford (15-3-3) earned the 2005 Ohio Valley Conference Tournament title and junior Sharon Young was named the Most Valuable Player. Young, the Bulldogs' native of Powder Springs, Ga., scored the game-winning goal during the 78th minute of play.

Samford's true freshman, Cayley Winters, earned the shutout in goal, her sixth of the season. She didn't allow a single goal in 200 minutes of the OVC Tournament and was named to the all-tournament team.

"I'm extremely proud of this team," said Samford head coach Todd Yelton. "They worked so hard for this all year long and they deserve the opportunity to play in the NCAA Tournament. From a coaching standpoint, it's a huge burden off of our shoulders and this was a great win for our team."

Samford will find out its opponent and site of competition in this weekend's 2005 NCAA College Cup on Monday. The selection show will be televised live on ESPN News at 4 p.m.

"We have a young team, but I think that we've definitely matured this year," Yelton said. "We'll find out who we start off against tomorrow in the NCAA Tournament and then it's back to work. Right now though, we just want to enjoy this."

With the score knotted at 0-0 late in the second half, Samford was fouled deep in Eastern Illinois territory and was awarded a direct kick.

On the ensuing set piece, the Bulldogs' Rebecca Bohler, sent a high lofting ball down in front of EIU's goal. The pass bounced directly in front of the Panthers' net, bounded off a pair of defenders and found its way to the right post.

With the ball a mere few feet from the goal line, Samford's Young gained possession and slammed it home into the back of the net. The goal was Young's fourth of the season. The Bulldogs' Bohler, the 2005 OVC Offensive Player of the Year, was credited with an assist on the play, her league-leading 12th of the season.

Eastern Illinois (9-10-2) failed to qualify for the NCAA College Cup for the first time since 2000. The Panthers defeated Samford in the OVC Tournament finale in each of the previous two seasons.

The teams played to a physical 0-0 draw in the first half.

Each squad was whistled for a pair of yellow cards and the teams combined for 26 fouls at the intermission. Samford was called for 14 fouls in the opening 45 minutes of play, while Eastern Illinois committed 12 infractions.

"I felt like it was going to be an ugly soccer game from the beginning and it turned out that way," said Yelton. "The field conditions really limited what any team could do out there."

Neither team put together a quality scoring chance in the first half, but Samford led the Panthers in shots, 4-1. Each team registered a shot on goal.

Samford's Heather Birdsell, Rebecca Mock, Winters and Young were all named to the 2005 OVC Tournament Team.

The Samford University soccer team will begin competition in its first-ever NCAA College Cup on Friday, Nov. 11. The field of 64 and the host sites will be announced on Monday at 4 p.m. The announcements will be made live on ESPN News.

2005 Ohio Valley Conference
All-Tournament Team

Sharon Young (MVP), Samford University
Rebecca Mock, Samford University
Heather Birdsell, Samford University
Cayley Winters, Samford University
Heather Jones, Murray State
Lisa Pfeiffer, Murray State
Erin Hartman, Southeast Missouri
Megan Hejlik, Southeast Missouri
Lee Ann Langsfeld, Eastern Illinois
Kathleen Hayes, Eastern Illinois
Sharyn Connell, Eastern Illinois

#1 Samford (15-3-3) def. #2 Eastern Illinois (9-10-2), 1-0

#2 EIU 0 0 - 0
#1 SAM 0 1 - 1

Scoring: SAM, Sharon Young (4) 77:28 (assist Rebecca Bohler); EIU, None.
Saves: SAM, Cayley Winters 3; EIU, Tiffany Groene 2.
Yellow Cards: SAM, Sara Geiger 19:24, Kim Matthews 25:28; EIU, Kim Garkie 20:11, Kellie Floyd 42:42.