Oct. 17, 2008

Box Score

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The Samford University soccer team extended its home undefeated streak to 12-consecutive games on Friday as the Bulldogs earned a key 1-0 Southern Conference victory against the College of Charleston Cougars. In the shutout win, Samford's Leah Leppert scored the game-winning goal in the 77th minute.

Leppert's goal was her second of the season and the score was assisted by both Caroline Baxter and Hilary Samuels. Baxter's assist was her team-leading fourth of the 2008 campaign.

"This was an exciting win for us tonight," said Samford head coach Todd Yelton. "College of Charleston is a very quality side and I think (Head coach) Kevin (Dempsey) has done a great job with that program. This was a win that we are obviously excited about because we beat a really good team tonight."

Samford (5-8-2, 4-1-2 SoCon) has not lost a home regular-season conference match since Oct. 9, 2005, and remained undefeated at Bulldog Field this year. In four games at home this season, the Bulldogs have compiled a 3-0-1 record.

Samford's 6-foot-3 freshman goalkeeper Alyssa Whitehead extended her scoreless streak in goal to 400:53-consecutive minutes. She picked up her second-straight shutout Friday and has not been scored on since facing regionally-ranked Auburn on Sept. 19.

"As a true freshman, Alyssa has done an outstanding job of making the adjustment to the speed of the college game," Yelton said. "It's a big difference from club soccer, but she has been great and (Goalkeeping coach) Jay (Yelton) has done a phenomenal job in getting her prepared. He's really helping her turn into a tremendous goalkeeper."

With the loss, College of Charleston (9-4-3, 2-3-2 SoCon) dropped to 1-3-3 in road matches this season. The Cougars opened the 2008 campaign with an unblemished 7-0 record, but have since tallied a 2-4-3 mark in their last nine games.

Samford outshot College of Charleston 16-10 on Friday and improved its all-time record against SoCon opponents to 11-2-4. The Bulldogs were whistled for six more fouls than the Cougars 14-8, but attempted seven corner kicks as compared to one for the College of Charleston.

Leppert, Samford's speedy sophomore from Germantown, Tenn., tallied the game-winning goal as a result of a corner kick.

With approximately 14 minutes remaining in regulation, the Bulldogs' Amber Cress drove down the left side of the field and kicked the ball off a Cougar defender to earn the corner kick. Samford's Baxter took the kick and sent a high, hooking cross to the far post of the goal.

Following Baxter's attempt, four College of Charleston defenders jumped to head the ball away, but mistimed their jumps and Samford's Hilary Samuels connected to send a shot towards goalkeeper Erin Smith. On the header, Smith made one of her game-high nine saves, but the ball rebounded directly to Leppert who punched it through for the score.

"The goal was huge and it's just one of those scores," said Yelton. "We've obviously had a lot of those that didn't find the back of the net, but our players battled after the corner and Leah was able to get a foot on it."

Samford's Leppert and Baxter both finished the game with four shot attempts. All of Baxter's shots were on-goal, while two of Leppert's attempts were on target. College of Charleston was led offensively by forward Chrissy Caruso. She also ended the match with four shots, two of which were on-goal.

"Our back four defensive players have just been outstanding for us," Yelton said. "If you look at the five players we really defend with, including Cindy Spiker and Alyssa (Whitehead) in goal, they've been great because we've only allowed three goals this season in SoCon play. That's saying a lot because this is a great league."

The Samford University soccer team will next be in action Sunday at 2 p.m., as the Bulldogs continue their critical two-game SoCon homestand against The Citadel Bulldogs at Samford's Bulldog Field.