Sept. 8, 2007

Box Score

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The Samford University soccer team used a first-half goal from freshman Lauren Cook to defeat the Memphis Tigers 1-0 in Saturday's final match of the 2007 Long's Electronics Samford Classic. The Bulldogs' Heather Birdsell and Cayley Winters were both named to the all-tournament team.

Winters, a junior from Littleton, Colo., teamed with sophomore Jenna Sturgill to earn a combined shutout in goal Saturday. Birdsell, the Bulldogs' senior from Plano, Texas, anchored the team's defense from her position on the back line.

With the win, Samford (3-1) improved its all-time record against Memphis (2-1) to 3-0. All three of the Bulldogs' victories in the series have come via a one-goal margin.

"This was a huge win for us tonight," said Samford head coach Todd Yelton. "I thought that our team played with a lot of heart and we were able to beat a very good team in Memphis. This was a very physical match and our defense did a great job keeping Memphis from having too many scoring opportunities."

Cook scored Samford's game-winning goal during the 13th minute of play.

On the score, Birdsell rifled a free kick from 45 yards out that caromed off of the crossbar and bounced directly in front of the goal. After the deflection, Cook angled her way into the box and skied past a pair of Tiger defenders to head the ball by the goalkeeper.

The goal was Cook's fifth of the season. She has scored five of the Bulldogs' six goals this year. Another true freshman, Hilary Samuels, tallied Samford's sixth score in a 3-0 victory against Kennesaw State.

Birdsell was awarded an assist on Cook's goal, her first of the season.

With the win, Samford earned third place in the 2007 Long's Electronics Samford Classic. LSU (4-0) defeated Miami (2-1-1) 4-1 in Saturday's first match of the tournament to earn the championship title of the two-day event.

Despite its loss, Miami finished second in the competition. Memphis (2-2) was winless this week and took home fourth place.

"I really thought that Memphis was a great team," Yelton said. "They are ranked 10th in their region and this was a very quality win for us. Brooks (Monaghan) is an outstanding coach and I know that his team will bounce back."

Memphis outshot the Bulldogs 14-6 on Saturday, but only had four shots on goal. Samford finished with four corner kicks in the match, while the Tigers tallied three.

Samford's Winters played the first 61 minutes in goal before Sturgill replaced her to close out the match. The shutout victory was the Bulldogs' third of the 2007 campaign.

"I have to give a lot of credit to our defense and I thought that Heather (Birdsell) and Cayley (Winters) both did outstanding jobs tonight," said Yelton. "After playing a tough, hard-fought match against Miami on Thursday, I was proud of how we fought and competed all night. We seemed to be a bit on our heels in the second half, but we never backed down."

The Samford University soccer team will return to action Friday as the Bulldogs begin a two-match road swing at Indiana at 6 p.m., in Bloomington, Ind.

On Sunday, Samford will close out its first weekend trip of the 2007 season with a neutral contest against the High Point Panthers on the campus of Marshall University in Huntington, W.Va., at 10:30 a.m.

2007 Long's Electronics Samford Classic
All-Tournament Team

Rachel Yepez, LSU (MVP)
Heather Birdsell, Samford
Taryne Boudreau, LSU
Roslyn Jones, LSU
Beverly Goebel, Miami
Brittney Macdonald, Miami
Malorie Rutledge, LSU
Melissa Smith, Memphis
Brittney Steinbruch, Miami
Vendula Strnadova, Memphis
Cayley Winters, Samford