Oct. 26, 2008

Box Score

CULLOWHEE, N.C. - The Samford University soccer team picked up its biggest win of the 2008 season on Sunday as the Bulldogs outlasted the Western Carolina Catamounts 2-1 in a critical Southern Conference showdown played at the Catamount Athletic Complex.

In the thrilling victory, Samford's Caroline Baxter scored the game-winning goal during the 82nd minute of play. Redshirt freshman Sarah Wilkinson tallied her second goal in as many games during the first half and true freshman goalkeeper Alyssa Whitehead pulled down six saves.

Samford (8-8-2, 7-1-2 SoCon) extended its undefeated streak to seven-straight games and earned its fourth-consecutive victory. With the win, the Bulldogs also moved into third place in the conference standings and clinched a home first-round SoCon Tournament match.

On Sunday, Nov. 2, Samford will play host to an opening-round game of the SoCon Tournament. The critical postseason contest will be held at Bulldog Field at 6 p.m. (CT).

With Sunday's home loss, Western Carolina (11-7, 8-2 SoCon) suffered its first defeat in five games and its first at the Catamount Athletic Complex since a 2-1 double-overtime setback against Belmont on Sept. 7. Western Carolina moved to 6-2 in home matches this season.

Samford's Wilkinson opened the scoring with her fourth goal of the season during the 27th minute of play. She was set up for the goal by Whitehead, the Bulldogs' goalkeeper. The assist was the first of her career.

On the score, Whitehead blasted a deep goal punt deep into Western Carolina territory. The ball then took another high bounce and Wilkinson ran under it, made a move past the Catamounts' goalkeeper and scored to give Samford an early 1-0 lead.

The goal was Wilkinson's second in two games. On Friday, the Bulldogs' freshman from Euless, Texas, tallied the game-winning score in Samford's 1-0 victory against Appalachian State.

The Bulldogs continued to hold their 1-0 lead in Sunday's match until the first minute of the second half when Western Carolina's Kayla Beauduy notched her fifth goal of the season. On the score, she fired a shot past Whitehead into the lower left corner of the goal.

Beauduy's goal snapped Whitehead's scoreless streak of 581:36 minutes. Samford's talented 6-foot-3 goalkeeper from Hattiesburg, Miss., had gone six-consecutive games without allowing a score, a streak that dated back to a Sept. 19 match against Auburn.

Despite giving up a goal for the first time in over a month, Whitehead registered six key saves and made a number of critical stops for the Bulldogs. Since taking over the starting job for injured Cayley Winters, Whitehead has tallied an impressive 5-0-1 record in goal.

Following Beauduy's goal during the 46th minute of play, the teams battled back and forth for a majority of the second half and the game seemed destined for overtime.

Then, in the 82nd minute of play, Samford's Baxter scored the biggest goal of her career to give the Bulldogs their decisive 2-1 lead. On the play, Samford's junior from Dallas, Texas, gathered a loose ball on the left flank and rifled a hooking shot into the right corner of the net.

The Samford University soccer team will next be in action Thursday at 7 p.m., as the Bulldogs conclude their regular-season schedule with a "Senior Night" matchup against the Chattanooga Lady Mocs. Samford's final regular-season SoCon contest of the year will be held at Bulldog Field.