May 9, 2006

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The Samford University soccer team officially released its 2006 fall schedule on Tuesday as the Bulldogs' head coach Todd Yelton unveiled a challenging 18-match slate featuring contests at Auburn, Miami and Baylor.

Samford, coming off its best year in school history, will attempt to win its fourth-straight regular season Ohio Valley Conference title in 2006.

The Bulldogs advanced past 19th-ranked Vanderbilt in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament last year and will look to qualify for their second straight appearance in the NCAA College Cup this season. In 2006, Samford will play a total of 12 road matches, as compared to six home dates.

"This year is kind of a unique situation for us in that we've had quite a few cancellations on our home games," said Yelton. "We are coming off a great season and Bulldog Field is a tough place to play for opponents. To fill in some games, we wanted to continue our trend of playing against quality teams, so that's why we're going to play at Baylor and Miami."

Samford will open its fall schedule with a pair of exhibition matches on the road against Southern Miss and Alabama.

The Bulldogs will play at Southern Miss on Aug. 17, before facing off against Alabama in Tuscaloosa on Aug. 19. Last year, Samford defeated Southern Miss, 3-0, at home at Bulldog Field.

To open its 2006 regular season, Samford will embark on a four-match road trip by traveling to Miami, Fla., for a pair of contests against Florida International (Aug. 25) and Miami (Aug. 27). The Bulldogs will then head to Memphis, Tenn., for matches against Arkansas State and Memphis on Sept. 2 and Sept. 4, respectively.

"We're going to start off our season against two really good opponents," Yelton said. We will find out right off the bat what our strengths and weaknesses are and that's what our non-conference schedule is set up to do. We want to get ready for conference play and there's no better way of doing that then facing teams from the ACC, SEC and Big XII."

Samford will open its 2006 home schedule on Sept. 8, against cross-town rival Birmingham-Southern.

The teams have split the previous two meetings and the Bulldogs earned a thrilling 2-1 victory last season. Samford currently holds a 4-2-1 record in the all-time series.

On Sept. 10, the Bulldogs will close out their annual four-team tournament with a matchup against the Winthrop Eagles. Aside from Birmingham-Southern, Samford and Winthrop, the fourth team in the 2006 Bulldog Soccer Tournament will be Austin Peay.

Following its home tournament, Samford will then travel for games against Auburn (Sept. 15), Baylor (Sept. 17), Tennessee Tech (Sept. 22) and Austin Peay (Sept. 24).

"We've had some great battles with Auburn over the years and I'm sure that this season will be no exception," said Yelton. "Karen (Hoppa) does a wonderful job with her team and it will be a good test for us. Then after that game, we'll hop on a plane and get ready for another battle against Baylor. That weekend will be a good test for us right before the beginning of OVC play."

The Bulldogs will play four home conference matches this season.

On Sept. 29, Samford welcomes Eastern Kentucky to Birmingham, for its first home OVC match of the year and will then close out the weekend against Morehead State on Oct. 1. Later, the Bulldogs host both Eastern Illinois (Oct. 20) and Southeast Missouri (Oct. 22), in a pair of critical conference matches.

Last season, Samford defeated Eastern Illinois in the championship game of 2005 OVC Tournament, while Southeast Missouri finished the year as the third-place team in the conference.

The Bulldogs will close out their regular-season schedule on Oct. 27, against Belmont.

The first round of the 2006 OVC Tournament will be held Oct. 31, at the home sites of the higher-seeded teams, while the semifinal and championship matches will be held at the home field of the regular-season champion, Nov. 3 and 5.

The 2006 version of the Samford University soccer team includes all 11 starters from last season's squad that finished the year with a school-record 15-4-4 mark. The Bulldogs earned their first OVC Tournament title last season and advanced past No. 19 Vanderbilt to reach the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

2006 Samford Soccer Schedule

Date, Opponent, Location, Time
Aug. 17, at Southern Miss (exhibition), Hattiesburg, Miss., 4 p.m.
Aug. 19, at Alabama (exhibition), Tuscaloosa, Ala., 7 p.m.
Aug. 25, at Florida International, Miami, Fla., 6 p.m.
Aug. 27, at Miami, Miami, Fla., 1 p.m.
Sept. 2, vs. Arkansas State$, Memphis, Tenn., 5 p.m.
Sept. 4, at Memphis$, Memphis, Tenn., 1:30 p.m.
Sept. 8, BIRMINGHAM-SOUTHERN+, BIRMINGHAM, 7 p.m.
Sept. 10, WINTHROP+, BIRMINGHAM, 2 p.m.
Sept. 15, at Auburn, Auburn, Ala., 7 p.m.
Sept. 17, at Baylor, Waco, Texas, 1 p.m.
Sept. 22, at Tennessee Tech*, Cookeville, Tenn., 4 p.m.
Sept. 24, at Austin Peay*, Clarksville, Tenn., 1 p.m.
Sept. 29, EASTERN KENTUCKY*, BIRMINGHAM, 7 p.m.
Oct. 1, MOREHEAD STATE*, BIRMINGHAM, 2 p.m.
Oct. 6, at Jacksonville State*, Jacksonville, Ala., 7 p.m.
Oct. 13, at UT Martin*, Martin, Tenn., 7 p.m.
Oct. 15, at Murray State*, Murray, Ky., 1 p.m.
Oct. 20, EASTERN ILLINOIS*, BIRMINGHAM, 7 p.m.
Oct. 22, SOUTHEAST MISSOURI*, BIRMINGHAM, 2 p.m.
Oct. 27, at Belmont, Nashville, Tenn., 7 p.m.
Oct. 31, OVC Tournament First Round^, Campus Site@, TBA
Nov. 3, OVC Tournament Semifinal Round^, Tournament Site%, TBA
Nov. 5, OVC Tournament Championship^, Tournament Site%, TBA

$ - Memphis Soccer Tournament
+ - 2006 Bulldog Soccer Tournament
* - Ohio Valley Conference match
^ - OVC Tournament contest
@ - The first-round games of the OVC Tournament are hosted by the higher seed
% - The OVC Tournament is hosted by the league's regular-season champion