Oct. 18, 2009
Box Score
ELON, N.C. -
The Samford University soccer team extended its undefeated streak to six-consecutive matches Sunday as the Bulldogs used a momentous first-half goal from Leah Leppert to earn a critical 1-0 win against the third-place Elon Phoenix. The Southern Conference showdown was held at Elon's Snyder Field.
"This was a very hard-fought win for us," said Samford head coach Todd Yelton. "It was a defensive struggle out there today and the wind was also affecting both teams as well. It was hard to really string too many passes together, but our players were tremendous and fought to get a really big win."
With the victory, Samford (10-1-3, 5-1-2 SoCon) concluded its arduous conference road trip with a 2-0 record. On Friday, the Bulldogs handed first-place UNC Greensboro its first home SoCon loss in over four years. By earning its two key road victories, Samford jumped from fourth place in the conference standings to third place.
"Our players were tremendous this weekend," Yelton said. "They really showed a lot of character and I think that we gained a lot of confidence. Anytime you can beat the first-place team and the third-place team on the road, then that's a huge accomplishment. Those were two wins against some very good teams and now we just need to continue to get better and close out the season strong."
The Bulldogs will conclude their regular-season schedule with home matches against Georgia Southern and Davidson, as well as a road contest at Chattanooga.
Samford is off to its best season in school history. The Bulldogs have only been defeated once in 2009 and have earned wins against Alabama, UNC Greensboro, Elon and Belmont. Samford has outscored its opponents 20-4 and has earned 10 shutouts.
The Bulldogs' Alyssa Whitehead picked up her eighth complete-game shutout of the 2009 season Sunday. Samford's 6-foot-3 goalkeeper has only allowed four goals in over 1,300 minutes of action this year. Whitehead owns a miniscule goals-against average of 0.24.
With Sunday's loss, Elon (10-4-2, 5-2-1 SoCon) had its four-match undefeated streak snapped. Prior to the contest, the Phoenix had earned consecutive victories against Chattanooga 5-1, Greensboro College 4-1 and Western Carolina 1-0.
"Elon is a very good team and they're always tough to beat at home," said Yelton. "They are very well-coached and you know that they are going to play hard every time they stop onto the pitch. By beating them at home, I'm extremely proud of our team and how they played to get a very big win today."
Samford's Leppert scored the game-winning goal during the 24th minute of play. The score was her second of the season and second of the weekend. The Bulldogs' junior from Germantown, Tenn., also tallied a crucial goal in Friday's 2-1 victory at UNC Greensboro.
Leppert's goal came off an assist from senior Amber Cress and went to the far post from 15 yards out. The assist was Cress's team-leading seventh of the season. Cress is now in the midst of a three-way tie for second place on Samford's all-time assist list in the category.
"Amber made a great run and was able to play the ball over to Leah," Yelton said. "She did a great job of drawing the defender and she's outstanding because she's unselfish. She saw that Leah was clear and then Leah scored a fantastic goal for us."
In Sunday's defensive struggle, Samford outshot Elon 6-4. Four of the Bulldogs' attempts were on goal, while none of the Phoenix's shots were on goal.
The Samford University soccer team will next be in action Friday at 7 p.m., as the Bulldogs return home to Birmingham for a SoCon matchup against the Georgia Southern Eagles. The contest will be held at Bulldog Field.
