Nov. 8, 2007

CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. - The Samford University soccer team will begin its quest for a second Ohio Valley Conference Tournament championship in three years Friday as the second-seeded Bulldogs square off against the sixth-seeded Eastern Illinois Panthers at 4 p.m.

This weekend's four-team OVC Tournament semifinal is being hosted by the regular-season champion and top-seed Southeast Missouri at Houck Stadium (10,000). The winner of the two-day event will receive an automatic bid to the 2007 NCAA Tournament.

Samford (14-4) enters Friday's match with a full head of steam after earning a 4-0 non-conference victory against Belmont on Saturday. The Bulldogs have won 10 of their previous 11 matches and finished OVC play with an 8-1 record this season.

Since becoming a member of the OVC in 2003, Samford has won four regular-season titles, an OVC Tournament championship and has compiled an astounding 37-6-6 record against conference opponents. The Bulldogs own a 1-3-3 all-time record in OVC Tournament play.

Samford has outscored its OVC opponents 26-5 this season.

Eastern Illinois (8-10-1), which earned the final spot in this season's OVC Tournament, upset third-seeded Murray State on the road Tuesday 2-1. With their come-from-behind victory, the Panthers earned its second win in three matches and advanced to Friday's semifinal round of the OVC Tournament.

Eastern Illinois has won at least one match in the OVC Tournament, and has reached the semifinals of the event every year it has been held (1999-present).

Samford-Eastern Illinois has perennially been one of the fiercest rivalries in OVC history. The teams met in the championship match of the OVC Tournament in three straight seasons from 2003-05.

The Panthers were victorious in the first two title games held in Birmingham, before the Bulldogs returned the favor in 2005 with a 1-0 championship match win in Charleston, Ill. Last season, neither team advanced to the OVC Tournament title game as Southeast Missouri knocked off Morehead State 2-0.

Samford and Eastern Illinois will square off for the second time in two weeks Friday. On Oct. 26, the Bulldogs earned a 3-1 road victory over the Panthers at Lakeside Field to take a 4-3-1 edge in the all-time series.

In 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 has advanced to the OVC Tournament championship three times and has earned first-round byes in all five of its years in the conference.

Following Samford's 4 p.m. matchup versus Eastern Illinois on Friday, the hometown-favorite Southeast Missouri Redhawks will square off against the fourth-seeded Tennessee-Martin Skyhawks at 7 p.m.

The winners of Friday's semifinal matches will face off for the OVC Tournament championship and an automatic berth in the 2007 NCAA Tournament at 1 p.m., on Sunday.

2007 OVC Tournament
Match Schedule

Friday, Nov. 9
#2 Samford vs. #6 Eastern Illinois - 4 p.m.
#1 Southeast Missouri vs. #4 UT Martin - 7 p.m.

Sunday, Nov. 11
OVC Tournament Championship - 1 p.m.