Oct. 7, 2009

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The Samford soccer team will play in a rare midweek Southern Conference match Thursday at 6 p.m. (CDT) as the Bulldogs head to Greenville, S.C., for a pivotal SoCon contest against the Furman Lady Paladins. The matchup will be held at Furman's Eugene E. Stone III Stadium.

Samford (7-1-2, 2-1-1 SoCon) heads into the match riding the positive momentum of a two-game undefeated streak. On Sunday, the Bulldogs posted their most lopsided victory of the 2009 campaign in a momentous 4-0 triumph against Appalachian State.

In their largest margin of victory since a similar 4-0 win against The Citadel on Oct. 19, 2008, Samford's Shannon Healy, Paige Lanter, Hilary Samuels and Sarah Wilkinson all scored goals. Healy, the Bulldogs' sophomore midfielder from Crystal Beach, Fla., knocked in the game-winner, while sophomore forward Wilkinson earned her team-leading fifth goal of the season.

Samford's Amber Cress tallied a pair of assists in the Bulldogs' 4-0 home victory versus Appalachian State on Sunday. A senior from Zionsville, Ind., Cress also extended her consecutive starting streak to 31-straight matches. The last time she was not included in the starting lineup was the Bulldogs' 2007 NCAA Tournament match against LSU when she was forced to sit due to an injury.

Cress currently leads Samford in both points (13) and assists (5) this season.

The Bulldogs' home win against Appalachian State helped Samford remain undefeated at Bulldog Field in 2009 and extended its undefeated streak at home to 21-consecutive matches. The last time that the Bulldogs were defeated at home was a 3-0 loss to Auburn on Sept. 21, 2007.

Furman (8-3, 2-2 SoCon) also heads into Thursday's match with a full head of steam after recording a pair of shutout victories over the weekend. The Paladins blanked The Citadel 2-0 on Friday before shutting out league-leader College of Charleston 1-0 on Sunday.

Goalkeeper Jessica Smith totaled three saves in each match to earn SoCon Player of the Week honors for the second time in her career. Sophomore Martha Hall netted the game-winning goal Sunday for her SoCon-best eighth goal of the season. She leads all SoCon players with 10 career match-winning goals.

The Bulldogs will square off against the Lady Paladins for only the second time in school history Thursday. Last season, the teams met for the first time as Samford rallied for a 3-0 victory at Bulldog Field

Samford was the top-ranked SoCon team in the latest edition of the 2009 NCAA Women's Soccer RPI. The Bulldogs were listed at No. 58 in Monday's rankings, while UNC Greensboro followed at No. 86.

Samford has outscored its opposition 15-2 in 10 matches this season and has already compiled eight shutouts. Sophomore goalkeeper Alyssa Whitehead has already tallied six complete-game shutouts and was named the SoCon's Women's Soccer Player of the Month on Tuesday.

Following Samford's pivotal SoCon matchup against Furman on Thursday, the Bulldogs will next be in action Sunday at 2 p.m. (CDT) as they return home to Bulldog Field for a meeting with the Wofford Terriers.

GameTracker - Samford at Furman