Aug. 21, 2007

Box Score

CLEVELAND, Tenn. - In the first meeting between Samford head coach Todd Yelton and his younger brother Matt, the head coach at Lee University, the Bulldogs suffered a 3-0 defeat against the nation's fourth-ranked NAIA team. Samford rested a trio of key starters in the loss.

"I thought that we were thoroughly outplayed in the first half and a lot of that is because we had a lot of young players that were in their first minutes of collegiate soccer," said Yelton. "In the second half, I thought that we played a lot better, but Matt has a great team and they have a great chance to be the best team in NAIA this season."

With less than a week of fall practice under its belt, Samford (0-1) squared off against the Lady Flames on Tuesday without the services of starting players Rebecca Bohler, Jamie Stout and Marchele Olds. All three of the Bulldogs' returning starters are recovering from minor injuries.

Bohler, the 2005 Ohio Valley Conference Player of the Year, has led the Bulldogs in assists in each of the past two seasons, while Olds and Stout are vital members of Samford's defensive back line that has finished first in the OVC in each of the last three seasons.

"As a coaching staff, we were able to take some positives from the game," Yelton said. "I thought that our younger players did an outstanding job in the second half and Jessika Mejia did a great job for us the entire time. We have an extremely young team this year and this game will prove to be a learning experience for us."

With the win, Lee University (1-0) picked up its first victory against a Division I opponent. Heading into Tuesday's contest, the Lady Flames held an 0-1 all-time record versus D-I foes after losing to Gardner Webb in 2003.

Lee University's Janaina Novaes scored both of the Lady Flames' two offensive goals Tuesday. The Brazilian national team member and two-time NAIA All-American tallied Lee's opening goal in the first half and then added the Lady Flames' final score in the second period.

"Janaina is one of the most dynamic forwards that our team will see all season long," said Yelton. "She was completely dominating tonight and is one of the very special players that they have on their roster. Lee is an extremely good team and I expect them to go far this season."

The Lady Flames' second score Tuesday occurred on a Samford own goal.

Samford's true freshman Hilary Samuels led the team with three shot attempts, all of which were on goal. The Bulldogs had seven true freshmen see significant playing time in the match.

The Samford University soccer team will continue its exhibition schedule Saturday as the Bulldogs travel to Oxford, Miss., for a preseason matchup against the Ole Miss Rebels beginning at 2 p.m.