Aug. 23, 2009

Box Score

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - In front of a school-record crowd of 1,264 fans at Bulldog Field, the Samford University soccer team earned a 0-0 draw against the 25th-ranked Auburn Tigers in Sunday's 2009 season opener.

"Auburn is the 25th-ranked team in the country and that's where we want to get to," said Samford head coach Todd Yelton. "We strive towards being a nationally-ranked team and I think this result tonight speaks volumes towards where this program is heading."

Sunday's meeting between Samford (0-0-1) and Auburn (0-0-1) was the sixth in the all-time series between the teams. It also marked the first time that the Bulldogs were not defeated by the Tigers. Auburn entered the match with a 5-0 record in the series.

Samford's school-record crowd of 1,264 fans surpassed its previous total of 1,054, which was also set against Auburn on Sept. 2, 2004. Sunday's standing-room-only crowd spilled out of the stands and wrapped all the way around the fence on the southeast and eastern portions of Bulldog Field.

"Our fans were fantastic tonight and we really appreciate all of their support," Samford said. "It was a great atmosphere, both for us and for Auburn. I know our players really appreciated playing in front of a huge crowd and that's the environment that we want at every game here at Samford."

Samford's Alyssa Whitehead finished the match with nine saves and tied her career-high with the total. Last year, the Bulldogs' 6-foot-3 native of Hattiesburg, Miss., also recorded nine saves in a season-opening contest against the eighth-ranked Texas Longhorns.

"Alyssa has really been fantastic and has definitely matured as a goalkeeper," said Yelton. "(Assistant coach) Jay (Yelton) has really done a great job in instructing her and I certainly think that she's one of the top goalkeepers in the country."

In Sunday's defensive struggle, Samford only allowed 17 shots, nine of which were on goal. The Bulldogs finished the scoreless tie with five shot attempts, two of which were on goal.

Samford's Sarah Wilkinson and Adrianne Mancino both registered the Bulldogs' best scoring opportunities Sunday. Wilkinson's shot on goal occurred late in the first half of play, while Mancino's scoring attempt was midway through the second half and was Samford's best chance of the match.

On the attempt, a crossing pass was sent towards the right corner of the box where Mancino headed it back to the left portion of the net. On the shot, Auburn's goalkeeper Amy Howard made a lunging save to her right to maintain the 0-0 tie.

Sunday's contest was Samford's first time in school history to keep Auburn scoreless.

"I thought that our back four were fantastic out there tonight," Yelton said. "We had a good idea of what we were going to do defensively and our players really bought into it and did an outstanding job of limiting Auburn's chances."

Sunday's heated match proved to be a very physical contest with both teams losing a player to a red card throughout the game. Auburn's Julie King was ejected at the 44:05 mark in the first half of play, while Samford's Caroline Baxter was issued a red card during the first overtime period.

The Bulldogs were whistled for 17 fouls, while the Tigers finished with 12.

The Samford University soccer team will next be in action Friday at 7 p.m., as the Bulldogs remain at home for another in-state matchup against the Alabama Crimson Tide. The matchup will be the first time in Samford school history that the Bulldogs will host the Crimson Tide.