Nov. 5, 2010

Box Score

CULLOWHEE, N.C. - With the score of Friday's Southern Conference Tournament match deadlocked at 3-3 and only 4:13 left to play in regulation, Samford true freshman Shanika Thomas tallied the game-winning goal to give the Bulldogs a thrilling 4-3 victory against The Citadel Bulldogs at the Catamount Athletic Complex.

"We came out on fire, but The Citadel scored two terrific goals," said Samford head coach Todd Yelton. "I was proud of the resiliency our team showed to fight back. It feels good to finally get a chance to play for a championship."

With the semifinal win, Samford (13-5-2) advanced to Sunday's championship contest where the Bulldogs will square off against the top-seeded and No. 14-ranked UNC Greensboro Spartans (18-1-1). The contest is scheduled to begin at noon (CST). In Friday's opening match, UNC Greensboro knocked off fifth-seeded Elon 2-0.

Earlier this year, UNC Greensboro and Samford met during the regular season at Bulldog Field and the Spartans tallied a late goal to defeat the Bulldogs 1-0. The loss was Samford's last of the 2010 campaign and it occurred on Sept. 26. Since then, the Bulldogs have registered an 11-match undefeated streak and have compiled a near-perfect 9-0-2 record.

Thomas' goal during the 86th minute of play capped off Samford's thrilling come-from-behind victory. After the Bulldogs' Michelle Moll scored a goal at 11:10 into the match, The Citadel (12-8-1) surged for three-consecutive scores to take a 3-1 lead into the half. Samford exploded for a pair of goals in the second period to rally for its 4-3 triumph.

On Thomas' game-winning goal, sophomore Lindsey Matern to created the scoring opportunity by sending in a pin-point centering pass. Thomas, the Bulldogs' true freshman from Ontario, Canada, then gathered the ball and fired a laser that found the back of the net just under the crossbar. The goal was Thomas' third of the 2010 campaign.

All four of Samford's goals Friday were scored by true freshmen. Moll, the Bulldogs' talented midfielder from Evansville, Ind., recorded the first tally, while Trine Taule earned her team-leading eighth and ninth scores of the 2010 campaign to even the match at 3-3. Taule, a native of Frekhaug, Norway, notched her second two-goal outing of the season. Her first was also against The Citadel on Oct. 3.

Samford advanced the championship match of the SoCon Tournament for the first time in its brief three-year history as a member of the talent-laden league. In all three seasons in the SoCon, the Bulldogs have qualified for the semifinals, but dropped hard-fought matches against Western Carolina in 2008 and College of Charleston in 2009.

Samford's Moll scored the first goal of the match with a blast from 25 yards out to the lower left corner at the 11:10 mark of the first half.

The Citadel wasted little time in responding as Vanessa Aponte rifled a shot past the outstretched arms of Alyssa Whitehead from 25 yards out.

The Cadets struck again with another long distance tally as Mariana Garcia's shot at 23:50 from above the top of box staked The Citadel to a 2-1 lead.

The Citadel's advantage increased yet again at 27:19 when Whitehead misplayed a corner kick and allowed the ball to drop across the end line for an own goal.

Samford was not done scoring however, as Taule connected from the edge of the 18-yard box on a low boomer to the lower left.

In the second half, Taule struck again in the 69th minute to equalize at three goals apiece. The freshman collected a loose ball in the net and finished for her ninth tally of the season.

Samford outshot The Citadel, 27-10. Whitney Nave recorded nine saves for The Citadel while Whitehead recorded five for Samford.

The Samford University soccer team will play for an automatic berth to the 2010 NCAA Tournament on Sunday as the Bulldogs face off against the 14th-ranked UNC Greensboro Spartans at noon (CST) in the championship match of the SoCon Tournament being held at the Catamount Athletic Complex on the campus of Western Carolina University in Cullowhee, N.C.

Updated SoCon Tournament Bracket