Oct. 2, 2009

Box Score

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The Samford University soccer team earned a 1-1 draw with the Western Carolina Catamounts on Friday in a critical Southern Conference showdown held at Bulldog Field. Samford led 1-0 with 35 seconds remaining in regulation when Western Carolina's Rachael Shomper tallied the game-tying goal to force overtime. Neither team scored in the extra periods.

"You hate to give up a goal in the last minute like that," said Samford head coach Todd Yelton. "What we'll take away from this match is that at the end of the game we have to be better at clearance. It definitely has a little bit of sting to it, but what's really important to me is our players' effort. I couldn't have asked for better effort tonight from our players. I thought they were spot on."

Samford's lone goal of the match was powered home by senior forward Amber Cress. The score was her fourth of the season. A native of Zionsville, Ind., Cress used the goal to move into sole possession of fourth place on the Bulldogs' all-time scoring list with 20.

Cress tallied her goal during the 48th minute of play. After fighting to a scoreless first half, Samford (6-1-2, 1-1-1 SoCon) earned a quick corner kick early in the second period.

On the corner kick, the Bulldogs' Cindy Spiker lofted a perfectly-placed ball deep into the box. The ball bounced off a pair of Catamount defenders and floated into a crowd of Samford attackers. Cress, who was in the right place at the right time, headed the ball to her left and past the outstretched arms of Western Carolina's All-SoCon goalkeeper Caitlin Williams.

The Bulldogs' Spiker was credited with an assist on the play, her first of the season.

Western Carolina (5-3-3, 2-0-1 SoCon) played from behind during the entire second half, but then used Shomper's timely goal to equalize the match.

On the game-tying score, a Samford defender cleared the ball out of her defensive third of the field, but it went directly to Western Carolina's Shannon Fowkes. Fowkes then turned and rattled off a crossing pass to her right into the box.

Shomper, a native of Millersburg, Pa., cut from right to left and met the ball with her left foot from eight yards out. The Catamounts' senior one-timed a shot that bounced twice and skipped over the arm of Samford's Alyssa Whitehead. The goal was Shomper's fourth of the 2009 season.

"At the end of a game, the ball's flying around and it tends to get crazy," Yelton said. "We'd done a really good job all night, but Western Carolina does such a great job of capitalizing on your errors. We just didn't clear that last ball really well and they were able to get on the end of one."

Neither team scored a goal in the two overtime periods, but Samford rattled off a pair of near golden-goal attempts.

"At the end of the day, we were able to get a draw against a very good team in Western Carolina," said Yelton. "This league is such a tough league and there are so many good teams in this conference. Western Carolina is a fantastic squad. I think that (head coach) Tammy (DeCesare) does a great job with them and they have a lot of talented players. I think their goalkeeper is exceptional."

With 46 seconds remaining in double overtime, Cress fired a shot for 30 yards out that Williams was forced to reach high and barely tip the ball over the cross bar. Then, on a final corner kick attempt, the Bulldogs' Sarah Wilkinson gathered a pass 20 yards out and rolled a screaming shot that narrowly missed just left of the near post.

"Usually, when you give up a goal at the very end of a game, the team will seem to deflate and play flat during the overtime periods," Yelton said. "But our players responded with vigor and with heart in overtime and I was very proud of that effort."

The Samford University soccer team will next be in action Sunday at 2 p.m., as the Bulldogs play host to the Appalachian State Mountaineers in another critical SoCon matchup. The contest will be played at Samford's Bulldog Field.