Sept. 29, 2006

Box Score

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The Samford University soccer team extended its undefeated streak versus Ohio Valley Conference opponents to nine-straight matches Friday as the Bulldogs recorded a 3-1 victory over the Eastern Kentucky Colonels.

Samford's Amber Cress scored a pair of first-half goals and the Bulldogs set a school record for the least time between two goals.

After Cress scored in the third minute to give Samford an early 1-0 lead, Heather Birdsell tallied a goal at 20:59. Shortly thereafter, Cress knocked in her second score of the match at 21:20, a mere 21 seconds later. The school record of 21 seconds barely surpassed the previous mark of 22 seconds, set in 2000.

"We were able to get off to a great start," said Samford head coach Todd Yelton. "I thought that we played really well and we were able to get a jump on them early. The big thing for us is that we were able to keep the momentum going and hopefully we can continue this play on Sunday."

Samford (7-3-1, 2-0-1 OVC) scored three goals for the third time this season and outshot Eastern Kentucky (2-8, 0-2 OVC), 18-4.

The Bulldogs' Rebecca Bohler tallied a pair of assists in the match, while freshman Caroline Baxter earned the first assist of her collegiate career. Bohler increased her season total in assists to three.

"Coming off our match against Austin Peay, I really challenged our forwards," Yelton said. "I wasn't really excited with the way they played on Sunday and I think that they took it to heart. They wanted to prove a point today that they are a very talented group and they came out and put the ball in the back of the net."

Eastern Kentucky lost its fourth-straight match Friday and dropped to a 1-10 all-time record against conference opponents.

The Colonels' Jenna Harris tacked on Eastern Kentucky's lone goal during the 73rd minute of play. Laura Caldon was credited with the assist. The score was Harris' first of the 2006 campaign and the assist was Caldon's third of the season.

"I was really impressed with the way that Eastern Kentucky played," said Yelton. "They have a talented team and I think that (head coach) Lindsay (Basalyga) has done an outstanding job with that program. They have a lot of good young players and I think that they are only going to get better."

The Bulldogs took a 3-0 lead into halftime behind the play of Cress.

Cress, Samford's speedy freshman from Zionsville, Ind., scored a pair of goals in the opening 45 minutes of play. She tallied the Bulldogs first goal of the match at 2:31 and then gave Samford a 3-0 advantage during the 22nd minute.

"I thought that Amber was great tonight," Yelton said. "She only played the first 45 minutes of the match and she was outstanding. Overall, she did an awesome job and I also thought that Bohler did a great job of finding her as well."

Bohler, who led the OVC in assists last season with 12, tallied two assists Friday. She assisted on both of Cress' goals and increased her career total to 20.

On Samford's opening goal of the match, Bohler fed a pass through the center of Eastern Kentucky's back line to Cress. The Bulldogs' freshman then gathered the pass and slammed the ball into the right-hand corner of the net from 10 yards out.

The Samford University soccer team will continue its two-match OVC homestand Sunday as the Bulldogs host the Morehead State Eagles at 2 p.m. The contest will be held at Bulldog Field and fans are encouraged to arrive early for a special pre-game presentation.