Sept. 10, 2010

Box Score

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The Samford University soccer team extended its undefeated streak to four-consecutive matches Friday as the Bulldogs rallied for a 2-0 victory against the Kennesaw State Owls on the opening day of the 2010 Samford Invitational held at Bulldog Field. Samford's Katie Proud and Paige Lanter both scored goals in the triumph.

"I thought that the first half of tonight's match was very difficult for us," said Samford head coach Todd Yelton. "Kennesaw State did a great job of preventing us from playing the way we like to play, so we didn't get off to the best of starts, but I thought that as the match went on, and we made a few adjustments that we played extremely well, especially in the second half."

With the win, Samford (3-2-1) earned its third straight victory at home. Since opening the season with hard-fought losses at Alabama and No. 18 Memphis, the Bulldogs have bounced back with a draw against Mercer 2-2 and consecutive home victories versus Southern Miss 4-0, UAB 1-0 and Kennesaw State (2-3-1) 2-0.

Kennesaw State fell to 0-2 all-time versus Samford and will square off against Georgia Southern on Sunday at 11:30 a.m. (CDT). The Owls' goalkeeper Staci Pugh registered five saves in the loss, while the Bulldogs' starting goalkeeper Alyssa Whitehead made a pair of key stops en route to her third straight shutout.

"This was a big win for us," Yelton said. "Kennesaw State is an outstanding team and they've won the Atlantic Sun Conference several years in a row now. They've been the dominant team in that conference, so for us to come out and get a win against them will tell you that we're definitely heading in the right direction."

Proud, Samford's true freshman from Knoxville, Tenn., scored Friday's game-winning goal during the 39th minute of play. The score was assisted by Hilary Samuels and was Proud's second goal of the 2010 campaign.

On the game-winning score, Samuels gained possession wide on the right flank and sent a soaring pass deep into the left side of the box. Proud, the Bulldogs' speedy forward, broke on the pass and one-timed a left-footed shot into the far right corner of the net from 15 yards out. Samuels tallied her third assist of the 2010 season on the goal.

"Katie is extremely quick and that just jumps out at you when you watch her play," said Yelton. "On the goal, she was able to get in behind the defense, Hilary (Samuels) hit a very good ball into her and she was able to put it home. I thought that goal really took a little bit of the weight off of us, because getting the first goal in any match is extremely important, so it put us in a really good position."

Samford outshot Kennesaw State 13-4 on Friday, with six of the shot attempts being on goal. The Owls led in corner kicks, 5-4, but only registered a pair of shots on goal.

"I thought that our back four players were much better in the second half tonight," Yelton said. "Kennesaw State got us stretched a bit in the first half, but our defenders played really well in the second half and limited their chances. Alyssa (Whitehead) is fantastic in goal for us and it's a great feeling to be playing the way we are now after the way we started the season by giving up goals."

The Bulldogs' Lanter added the team's second goal of the night during the 60th minute of play. With the score, her first of the season, she gave Samford its decisive 2-0 victory.

On Lanter's goal, the play was set up by senior Leah Leppert who stole the ball from a Kennesaw State defender and streaked down the left sideline towards the goal. She then slid her way past another Owl defender and sent a pass up ahead to her right side.

True freshman Michelle Moll gathered the pass, moved towards the baseline and fired a quick pass back to Lanter 10 yards in front of the goal. Lanter then collected the ball and sent a laser into the bottom left corner of the net for the score.

The goal was Lanter's fifth of her career and Moll earned her first collegiate assist on the play.

The Samford University soccer team will next be in action Sunday at 2 p.m. (CDT) as the Bulldogs close out play in the 2010 Samford Invitational against the Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles at Bulldog Field.