Sept. 5, 2007

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The Samford University soccer team will continue its four-match season-opening homestand Thursday as the Bulldogs welcome the Miami Hurricanes to Bulldog Field for a non-conference matchup beginning at 7:30 p.m.

The meeting will be the second all-time between the schools and will be game two of the 2007 Long's Electronics Samford Classic. LSU and Memphis are scheduled to kick off Thursday's action at 5 p.m. Last year, Samford dropped a 2-0 decision at Miami in the only previous meeting between the teams.

Admission is free to the 2007 Long's Electronics Samford Classic.

Those unable to attend the matches in person can follow live on the internet via Samford's free GameTracker at www.SamfordSports.com. Fans are urged to go to the soccer schedule page and click on the GameTracker link for the event that they would like to follow.

"I think that hosting a tournament consisting of Miami, LSU and Memphis speaks volumes about how far our program has come in such a short period of time," said Samford head coach Todd Yelton. "This is going to be a great, quality tournament and it's an awesome opportunity for the people of Birmingham to come out and watch some very good soccer."

Samford (2-0) heads into the 2007 Long's Electronics Classic with a two-match winning streak. Last week, the Bulldogs earned the championship title of the Samford Barber's Invitational by picking up shutout wins against both Georgia Southern 1-0 and Kennesaw State 3-0.

With its pair of victories, Samford opened the season with a 2-0 record for the first time since 2003 when the Bulldogs started the year with wins against Belmont 6-0 and Chattanooga 2-1. Samford also posted back-to-back shutout victories for the first time since last season when they blanked both Jacksonville State and Tennessee-Martin by identical 2-0 scores.

The Bulldogs had four players earn all-tournament honors last weekend in Heather Birdsell, Lauren Cook, Leah Leppert and Cindy Spiker.

Cook scored three of Samford's four goals in the two-match tournament and earned Most Valuable Player honors. On Tuesday, she was one of three Bulldogs to receive weekly Ohio Valley Conference awards and was named the offensive player of the week.

Joining Cook as a member of the first trio to sweep the OVC weekly awards in league history were Leppert and Cayley Winters. Leppert earned defensive player of the week honors, while Winters received her fifth career goalkeeper of the week award.

"Our players have a lot of confidence coming off of last weekend and we need to really try and build on the momentum," Yelton said. "We played extremely well on Sunday and even with our large amount of injuries, there is still a very good spirit within the team. All of the players are battling and they are doing the things that they need to do to challenge each other every day."

Miami (1-0-1) opened its 2007 campaign with a 1-1 draw at Ole Miss on Friday and then demolished Alabama A&M 8-0 on Sunday. The Hurricane's Brittney Steinbruch has already scored four goals this season and leads the team with eight points and seven shots on goal.

"Miami is an excellent team and they have great players all over the park," said Yelton. "I think that Sheuneen Ta, their attacking center midfielder, was outstanding against us last year and I know that they had an excellent recruiting class. Brittney Steinbruch is one of those outstanding freshmen and she really highlights that top-caliber group."

Miami's Steinbruch and Lauren Singer both recorded hat tricks against Alabama A&M as they scored three goals apiece.

As a member of the talent-laden Atlantic Coast Conference, Miami finished the 2006 season with a 1-8-1 league record and an 8-9-1 overall mark. Head coach Tricia Taliaferro is in the midst of her sixth season at Miami and owns a 38-51-5 record at the school.

So far this season, Samford has fallen prey to the injury bug and could be without the services of nine key players Thursday night. The Bulldogs have been forced to play with a young lineup this year and started five freshmen, four sophomores, one junior and a senior in their 3-0 victory against Kennesaw State on Sunday.

Following Samford's matchup against Miami on Thursday, the Bulldogs will continue play in the 2007 Long's Electronics Samford Classic on Saturday with a 7:30 p.m. contest against the Memphis Tigers. The match will be held at Bulldog Field.

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