Sept. 15, 2006

Box Score

AUBURN, Ala. - The Samford University soccer team had its four-match winning streak snapped Friday as the Bulldogs dropped a 3-1 decision to the 20th-ranked Auburn Tigers in a non-conference duel held at the Auburn Soccer Complex.

"To be quite honest with you, I thought that we played great," said Samford head coach Todd Yelton. "Outside of the scoreboard, I thought that everything else was even. We made two crucial mistakes and a team as good as Auburn is going to score goals off of them. Take those away and maybe it's a little different outcome."

Samford (5-2) outshot the Tigers, 13-11, but couldn't capitalize on many of its scoring chances.

The Bulldogs' Valerie Kikkert scored Samford's lone goal of the match late in the second half. With the Tigers leading 3-0, Kikkert collected a deflected crossing pass and rifled a shot passed Auburn's goalkeeper Allison Whitworth. The score was Kikkert's first of her collegiate career.

Auburn (6-1) improved to 3-0 all-time against the Bulldogs and moved to 2-0 against Samford when playing at home.

"Auburn is a great team with a lot of talented players, but I didn't think that the final score was an indicator of the flow of the game," Yelton said. "Not to take anything away from them, but we had some good chances to change the game. I will take some positives from this match, but honestly we didn't come down here to be competitive. We came down here to get a win."

The Tigers took a 1-0 lead into halftime behind an eighth-minute goal scored by senior forward Kristin Stewart. The goal was Stewart's second of the season and was assisted by sophomore Kara Kasten.

On the play, Kasten dribbled the ball up from midfield and fed a pass between a pair of Samford defenders to set Stewart up for the 15-yard goal. Stewart corralled the pass at an angle and fired a shot to the right of the Bulldogs' Cayley Winters.

The goal was the first allowed by Samford's defense in five matches.

The Bulldogs outshot Auburn 8-4 in the first half, with four of their shots being on goal. The Tigers rattled off four shots in the opening period, two of which were on goal.

Samford's Cassie Applegate led all players with three first-half shot attempts, while Rebecca Bohler rifled off a pair of shots and Jessika Mejia, Rachel Titus and Amber Cress all added one shot apiece.

Auburn scored its second goal during the eighth minute of the second half.

The goal was tallied by Jac Schwarz at 52:03 and was her second of the 2006 campaign. Sophomore Jenn Johnson initiated the play by streaking down the right side of the field and fed Schwarz with a cross to the left flank. Schwarz gathered the pass and found the right corner of the net past the defenseless Winters.

The Tigers extended their lead to 3-0 late in the second half as Jenni Prescott scored the first goal of her career at 77:27.

Auburn held possession on Samford's defensive end of the field and sent a crossing pass deep into the box. The Bulldogs' Sharon Young headed the ball out towards midfield, but Prescott settled the ball and rifled a shot over Winters for the score.

The Samford University soccer team will next be in action Sunday as the Bulldogs continue their four-match road trip against the Baylor Bears at 1 p.m., in Waco, Texas.