Sept. 18, 2005

Box Score

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - In a hard-fought contest held at the Vanderbilt Soccer Complex, the Samford University soccer team dropped a 2-1 decision against the 24th-ranked Vanderbilt Commodores on Sunday. The physical matchup included 39 fouls and seven yellow cards.

With the loss, Samford (5-1-2) dropped its first match of the 2005 campaign and snapped its seven-game undefeated streak. Vanderbilt (7-1), the Bulldogs' highest-ranked opponent in over a year, extended its unbeaten streak to seven-consecutive matches.

Samford's Kim Matthews scored her second goal of the season in the defeat and sophomore Heather Birdsell earned her third assist.

Vanderbilt was whistled for 24 fouls on Sunday, while the Bulldogs were called for 15. The Commodores were issued a total of five yellow cards and Samford finished with a pair of cautions.

With the score of the match knotted at 1-1 with 8:45 remaining in the contest, Vanderbilt's Lea Lafield tallied the game-winning goal off of an assist from Amy Baumann. The score was Lafield's second of the 2005 campaign.

The Commodores jumped out to an early 1-0 advantage on Sunday as senior midfielder Meghan Habig scored a goal at 9:17 into the match. On the play, Habig headed a cross from senior Lauren Mitchell into the left-hand corner of the net. The assist was Mitchell's first of the season.

The goal proved to be Habig's third of the season and marked the first time that an opponent scored on Samford in 446:17 minutes of play. Prior to Sunday's match, the Bulldogs had not allowed a goal since a 2-1 victory over Memphis on Sept. 2.

Samford quickly evened the score at 1-1 during the 26th minute of the first half.

After spending a predominant portion of the first half stuck on the defensive side of the field, the Bulldogs' Birdsell ignited a counter-attack in which she fed a ball ahead to Matthews. Matthews, a native of Colleyville, Texas, beat a pair of Vanderbilt defenders to the ball and sent a 35-yard shot over the goalkeepers head into the goal.

The score came exactly at the 26:00-minute mark and was Matthews' second of the season.

Samford's goal was the first scored against the Commodores' goalkeeper Tyler Griffin in a school-record 515:00 minutes. Vanderbilt's junior from Charlotte, N.C., had gone six entire matches without allowing a goal.

Despite being outshot 13-2 in the first half of play, the Bulldogs held tight to a 1-1 draw at halftime.

The Samford University soccer team will next be in action on Friday, Sept. 23, as the Bulldogs begin Ohio Valley Conference play on the road against the Eastern Kentucky Colonels. The matchup is scheduled to kick off at 4 p.m., at the EKU Soccer Complex.

#24 Vanderbilt (7-1) def. Samford (5-1-2), 2-1

SAM 1 0 - 1
#24 VU 1 1 - 2

Scoring: SAM, Kim Matthews (2) 26:00 (assist Heather Birdsell); VU, Meghan Habig (3) 9:17 (assist Lauren Mitchell), Lea Latfield (2) 81:15 (assist Amy Baumann).
Saves: SAM, Emily Morris 4; VU, Tyler Griffin 2.
Yellow Cards: SAM, Kim Matthews 68:29, Jessika Mejia 88:20; VU, Meghan Habig 48:27, Kim Perkins 58:54, Susan McAleavey 63:11, Meredith Kohn 77:31, Kelci Hegg 81:32.