Oct. 26, 2007

CHARLESTON, Ill. - The first-place Samford University soccer team earned its school-record ninth-straight victory Friday as the Bulldogs outplayed the Eastern Illinois Panthers 3-1 in an Ohio Valley Conference showdown at Lakeside Field.

With the victory, Samford (13-3, 8-0 OVC) remained undefeated in conference play and extended its school-record winning streak to nine-straight matches. The Bulldogs' current streak surpassed the previous mark of eight-straight wins, set in 2002.

Samford's Amber Cress, Natalie Fleming and Hilary Samuels all scored goals in the victory, while junior goalkeeper Cayley Winters improved to 13-3 as a starter this season.

"Obviously, this was a big win for us and Eastern Illinois is a very good team," said Samford head coach Todd Yelton. "We came out with the right mentality and we battled extremely hard. We knew what it would take to get a win and we were able to do that today."

The Bulldogs jumped out to an early 2-0 lead with quick first-half goals from Cress and Fleming.

Cress scored the opening goal of the match during the 19th minute of play. It was her sixth of the 2007 season and was assisted by both Cassie Applegate and Kelly Shaffer.

On the score, Applegate sent a centering pass up ahead to Shaffer who rifled a shot on goal that was deflected by Cress and angled past the Panthers' goalkeeper Jenny Williams. Shaffer's shot was launched from 18 yards out.

Fleming, Samford's sophomore forward from Evansville, Ind., added the Bulldogs' second goal of the match at 27:20. The score was her third of the season and was also assisted by Applegate.

Applegate, a native of Zionsville, Ind., finished with two assists and increased her total to six this season.

"You could tell that this was a rivalry match," Yelton said. "It was a hard-fought battle, but that was mostly due to the conditions. The field was so wet and muddy that people were sliding all over the place. Prior to the rain, the surface was in awesome condition, but once it rained it became harder to play on."

Eastern Illinois (6-9-1, 3-5 OVC) suffered its fourth-straight loss and dropped to 4-2-1 in home games this season. The Panthers have not been victorious since Oct. 7, and have been outscored 10-4 in their previous four matches.

Sophomore midfielder Alexis Miller led Eastern Illinois' offensive attack with two shot attempts. The Panthers finished the match with eight shots and five corner kicks.

"Eastern Illinois is a great team and this was a big win for us," said Yelton. "They generally play their best soccer at home and I knew that it would be difficult for us to get a victory. Our players came out with the right mindset and everybody came to play. I was impressed with (Kelly) Shaffer and I thought that she stepped up and was ready to go."

With the win, Samford became the first OVC team to score at Lakeside Field since Southeast Missouri on Sept. 29, 2006. Additionally, the Bulldogs also became the first conference opponent to score multiple goals on the Panthers' home field since Tennessee Tech in 2002.

Samford's freshman midfielder Samuels tacked on the team's third goal at 66:34 in the second half to give the Bulldogs a 3-0 advantage. The goal was Samuels' fifth of the 2007 season and her third score in the last three games. Cress tallied the assist and increased her team-leading total to seven this season.

Eastern Illinois' lone goal of the match was scored during the 89th minute and occurred on a Samford own goal.

The Samford University soccer team will next be in action Sunday as the Bulldogs face off against the second-place Southeast Missouri Redhawks at 2 p.m., in Cape Girardeau, Mo.

The winner of Sunday's showdown at Hauck Stadium will be crowned the 2007 OVC regular-season champion and will host the final two rounds of the conference's postseason tournament Nov. 9-11.

"Right now, we're just going to enjoy this win and then we'll start working on Southeast Missouri tomorrow," said Yelton. "The great thing about this team is that they take it one game at a time and they get ready to play no matter who we're facing."