Sept. 17, 2005

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The Samford University soccer team will square off against its highest ranked opponent in over a year on Sunday as the undefeated Bulldogs travel north to Nashville, Tenn., for a key non-conference matchup against the 24th-ranked Vanderbilt Commodores.

The contest is scheduled to begin at 6 p.m., at the Vanderbilt Soccer Complex and live stats will be made available at www.VUCommodores.com.

"Vanderbilt is going to be a really big challenge for us," said Samford head coach Todd Yelton. "They are ranked in the top 25 right now and they only have one loss this season. (Head coach) Ronnie (Coveleskie-Hill) has really gotten them to play well this year and it will be a really big test for us."

Samford (5-0-2) enters Sunday's highly-anticipated contest riding a seven-match undefeated streak. The Bulldogs have outscored their opponents 12-2 this season and have not allowed a goal since a 2-1 victory over Memphis on Sept. 2.

On Friday, Samford moved to an unblemished 3-0 record against Conference USA opponents as the Bulldogs rallied for a 3-0 victory over Southern Miss. SU's Heather Birdsell, Marian Wagner and Candace Clippard all scored goals in the win.

Wagner, Samford's senior captain from Spring, Texas, jumped into sole possession of second place on the Bulldogs' all-time goals scored list on Friday. With her second-half score, she surpassed Mitzi Mahan's 23 career goals and moved to only one shy of Lindsay Shanks' Samford record of 25.

Vanderbilt (6-1) heads into Sunday's matchup in the midst of a six-match winning streak.

After suffering a hard-fought 2-1 loss on the road against Colorado on Aug. 26, the Commodores have streaked to consecutive wins over Denver, 2-0, Francis Marion, 9-0, Washington State, 1-0, Middle Tennessee, 2-0, UAB, 1-0, and Morehead State, 1-0. Vanderbilt's defense has dominated its opposition this season and the Commodores have outscored their opponents, 17-2.

Sunday's meeting between Samford and Vanderbilt will be the first regular-season matchup between the teams.

Last year, in an exhibition contest held at Bulldog Field, the Commodores rallied for a 4-1 victory on Aug. 21.

The last time that the Bulldogs squared off against a top-25 ranked team was on Sept. 2, 2004, as they hosted the 20th-ranked Auburn Tigers. The Tigers earned a 3-0 victory.

The Samford University soccer team will look to remain undefeated on Sunday as the Bulldogs square off against its first ranked opponent in over a year against the 24th-ranked Vanderbilt Commodores.

The contest is scheduled to begin at 6 p.m., at the Vanderbilt Soccer Complex.