Sept. 28, 2008

Box Score

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The Samford University soccer team earned a hard-fought 0-0 draw against the UNC Greensboro Spartans on Sunday at Bulldog Field. UNC Greensboro was the preseason favorite to win the Southern Conference.

"Even though we weren't able to get the win today, it was still a fantastic match to be a part of," said Samford head coach Todd Yelton. "We played very well in the first half, and I actually think that we're going to look back at this game and feel kind of unfortunate that we weren't able to score a goal. I thought that in the first half we were the better side."

In Sunday's tie, Samford (2-7-1, 1-0-1 SoCon) outshot UNC Greensboro (6-4-1, 1-0-1 SoCon) 18-12, including a 10-2 advantage in the first half of play. Heading into the game, the Spartans had won 18-straight SoCon matches.

The Bulldogs were led offensively by Amber Cress, Leah Leppert and Natalie Fleming, as all three players finished with three shot attempts apiece. Cress, Samford's junior forward from Zionsville, Ind., led the team with two shots on goal.

"We did a great job of creating opportunities today, but we were just a little bit off," Yelton said. "This match was very important and there was definitely a lot of ebb and flow throughout the game. I knew that (UNC) Greensboro would be much better in the second half of play and they were. I mean that's a team that has a win over Santa Clara this year."

UNC Greensboro's attack was paced by Kelly Attayek, Nicole Danford and Jenn Partenheimer. All three players tallied two shots apiece, while Attayek finished with a shot on goal. The Spartans entered Sunday's match as the 10th-ranked team in the talent-laden Southeast Region.

"(UNC) Greensboro is a great team and (Head coach) Eddie (Radwanski) does a fantastic job with that squad," Yelton said. "They have a lot of good players and they all fought their hearts out today."

Samford's starting goalkeeper Cayley Winters earned her second consecutive shutout. On Friday, the Bulldogs' senior from Littleton, Colo., helped her team to a 3-0 victory against Elon. Winters finished with four saves against UNC Greensboro on Sunday.

The Spartans' goalkeeper Kelsey Kearney notched a game-high seven saves and picked up her second shutout of the 2008 campaign.

"I'd like to give a lot of credit to their (UNC Greensboro's) goalkeeper, because she made a number of outstanding saves," said Yelton. "When you look at the entire game though, they also had a number of opportunities to score, but we had some of our players make great plays as well."

Samford's back line consisting of Theresa Henry, Hilary Samuels and Colette Nammour played all 110 minutes of the match. Each of the players made a number of defensive stops for the Bulldogs as they recorded their third shutout of the season.

"In this match, there were two really good Southern Conference teams going at it and each team ended up getting a point," Yelton said. "After our first full weekend of conference play, we're 1-0-1 and that's not bad at all. We know that it's a new season for us and we just need to have a great week of practice this week and get ready for Davidson on Friday."

The Samford University soccer team will next be in action Friday at 6 p.m., as the Bulldogs return to the road to face the Davidson Wildcats in Davidson, N.C.