Sept. 4, 2008

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The Samford University soccer team will begin play in the 2008 adidas Gamecock Classic on Friday as the Bulldogs square off against the Mercer Bears at 5 p.m., at the JSU Soccer Field in Jacksonville, Ala.

Samford (0-3) heads into this weekend's four-team tournament with aspirations of picking up its first victory of the 2008 campaign. The Bulldogs are currently in the midst of an eight-game, season-opening road swing and have played against three-straight, regionally-ranked opponents to open the season.

So far this year, Samford has played matches against No. 8-ranked Texas, No. 25-ranked Milwaukee and Marquette. Marquette is the 10th-ranked team in the Great Lakes Region.

Mercer (1-2) enters Friday's matchup with a full head of steam after picking up a 4-0 victory against Jackson State last week. The win was the Bears' first of the season after they opened the 2008 campaign with losses at No. 18 Georgia, 2-0, and at home against Southern Conference-opponent Davidson, 1-0.

Mercer has had four players score goals this season, while freshman midfielder Ali Meek leads the team with two assists. Junior Jean Worts has started all three games at the goalkeeper position and owns a solid 1.09 goals-against average.

Samford's Sarah Wilkinson and Cindy Spiker have each scored goals for the Bulldogs this season.

Senior Cayley Winters has started one game in goal, while true freshman Alyssa Whitehead started at goalkeeper against eighth-ranked Texas and 25th-ranked Milwaukee. Winters, who finished with a career-high 14 saves against Marquette on Sunday, currently owns a team-high 87.5 save percentage.

Samford holds an impressive 5-1-1 all-time record against Mercer. The teams last squared off in 2003 and played to a scoreless 0-0 draw at Bulldog Field in Birmingham, Ala. Prior to their last meeting, Samford rattled off four-straight victories against Mercer.

Mercer's lone victory in the series was a 5-2 win Oct. 23, 1997, in Macon, Ga.

Following Samford's matchup against Mercer on Friday, the Bulldogs will conclude play in the 2008 adidas Gamecock Classic on Sunday at 1 p.m., versus the Arkansas Lady'Backs.

GameTracker - Samford vs. Mercer