Oct. 21, 2007

Box Score

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The Samford University soccer team tied a school record with its eighth-consecutive victory Sunday as the Bulldogs rallied for a hard-fought 2-1 Ohio Valley Conference win against the Austin Peay Lady Govs.

Samford's Cassie Applegate and Hilary Samuels each scored goals late in the first half to propel the Bulldogs to victory. Goalkeeper Cayley Winters finished with three key saves and improved to 12-3 as a starter this season.

"Really, the best thing that came out of the match is that we didn't get anyone injured and we were able to get the result," said Samford head coach Todd Yelton. "It was a difficult match to play and it was one of those typical Sunday afternoon matches. We were fortunate enough to put two in the back of the net."

With the victory, Samford (12-3, 7-0 OVC) remained undefeated in conference play and extended its winning streak to eight-straight matches. The Bulldogs have not been defeated since Sept. 21, and tied the 2002 squad for the longest winning streak in school history.

Austin Peay (6-11, 0-7 OVC) scored first Sunday as All-OVC performer Ashley Beck tallied her ninth goal of the season in the 34th minute.

On the score, Beck received a deep pass beyond the defenders and used her speed to reach the ball with only Winters to beat. Immediately after gathering the pass, Beck fired a quick shot to her right, but Winters made a head-first dive for the deflection. Following Winters' block, Beck raced over to the bounding ball and was able to kick it home.

Beck's goal was the first goal allowed by Samford in the previous three matches and gave Austin Peay an early 1-0 advantage.

"We had three excellent chances to score in the first 15 minutes of the match and we came away with nothing," Yelton said. "We gave up the first goal, but then our players responded and I was happy with the way that they rebounded. I think that we've definitely grown up a bit this season and we're a lot better at dealing with adversity."

Following Austin Peay's score, Samford's offensive attack stepped it up a notch and tallied two goals in the next eight minutes.

The equalizing goal was scored by Applegate during the 38th minute of play. Freshman Kelly Shafer was awarded with an assist after she sent a perfectly-placed centering pass up ahead to Applegate who then fired a shot neatly into the upper left-hand corner of the net.

The goal was Applegate's fourth of the season.

"I thought that Kelly Shaffer did a great job for us today and she brought a physical presence to the midfield that I really liked," Yelton said. "She impacted the match as much as anyone and I thought that Hilary (Samuels) and Cassie (Applegate) also gave us a huge boost coming off the bench."

Less than four minutes after Applegate evened the score at 1-1, Samuels tallied her second game-winning goal of the season during the 42nd minute of play.

On the score, sophomore Caroline Baxter started the play by sending a corner kick short to senior Amber Cress on the left flank. Cress then immediately turned to the baseline and sent a crossing pass directly to Samuels who rifled a one-timer into the left corner of the net. The goal was Samuels' fourth of the season.

Samford outshot Austin Peay 19-8 in the match.

The Bulldogs rattled off 11 shot attempts in the first half and eight in the second period. The Lady Govs only tallied three shots in the first half, but attempted five in the second period including a pair of near goals.

On one play late in the second half, Beck broke away from a pair of defenders and had a one-v-one with Winters to tie the match. Winters timed her run perfectly and challenged the shot for a game-saving stop.

Beck paced Austin Peay with six shot attempts and four shots on goal. The remaining Lady Gov players combined for two shots.

"I have to give a lot of credit to Austin Peay," said Yelton. "I felt that they played their hearts out today and (Head Coach) Kelley (Guth) does a great job with that team. They have a very young squad and I thought they did a great job of sticking to their gameplan."

The Samford University soccer team will next be in action Friday as the Bulldogs begin a critical two-match road trip against the Eastern Illinois Panthers at 3 p.m., in Charleston, Ill.