Sept. 3, 2010

Box Score

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The Samford University soccer team used an offensive outburst from three underclassmen and a senior Friday to register a 4-0 victory against the Southern Miss Golden Eagles at Bulldog Field. In the win, true freshmen Shanika Thomas and Trine Taule tallied their first career goals, while sophomore Kaley Blanton and senior Hilary Samuels added second-half scores for the Bulldogs.

"Tonight was a great win for us, especially with all of the injuries we've suffered lately," said Samford head coach Todd Yelton. "Today was a weird day, because I was at the hospital with two of our players who had surgeries, so I think it really showed the resolve of our players as they came out tonight to get this big win. I'm really proud of them."

Samford (1-2-1) remained undefeated at home this season and moved to 2-3 all-time against Southern Miss (1-2). The Bulldogs' junior goalkeeper Alyssa Whitehead registered her first shutout of the season as she tallied four key stops in the match.

With only 1:47 left to play in the first half, Samford's Thomas tallied the game-winning goal of the match as she fired a left-footed slice neatly into the top left corner of the goal. Thomas, the Bulldogs' true freshman from Ontario, Canada, scored the opening goal of the match from 30 yards out on the right side of the field.

Samford took a 1-0 advantage into the half and quickly increased their advantage to 2-0 at 55:19 when Kaley Blanton scored her first career goal for the Bulldogs. On the score, Hilary Samuels gained possession of the ball near the left corner of the field and sent a pinpoint pass across to the other side of the box where Blanton slammed it home.

Blanton, Samford's sophomore from Mandeville, La., scored a goal in her first match after she was recently moved from defender to forward.

"I thought that we really got off to a great start in the second half and when we got that second goal it was great for us," Yelton said. "I loved seeing KB (Kaley Blanton) get that goal, because I thought she was excellent tonight. I'm obviously the one who had it wrong; we should have been playing her at forward all along."

Southern Miss held possession for a good portion of the second half and finished the match with 10 shots, five of which were on goal. The Golden Eagles' offensive attack was paced by Chanel Elgin, Samantha Polley and Chelsea Cruthirds who all registered a pair of shot attempts.

"After we scored that second goal, I thought we really hit a bad patch there for awhile," said Yelton. "For about 10 minutes or so, Southern Miss was all over us and we really couldn't get anything going. Alyssa made two phenomenal saves for us that kept Southern Miss off the board at a really key time. If they score those goals, then were tied at 2-2 again just like last week."

Whitehead, the Bulldogs' 6-foot-3 All-Southern Conference performer from Hattiesburg, Miss., made a pair of diving saves on Southern Miss attempts from point-blank range. With the shutout victory, Samford's starting goalkeeper tallied the 15th complete-game shutout of her career.

The Golden Eagles' goalkeeper Hanna Vanderboegh finished the match with two saves, but allowed four Samford goals.

Samuels, Samford's talented senior from Carrollton, Texas, extended the Bulldogs' lead to 3-0 during the 73rd minute of play as she sent a 25-yard laser into the far left corner of the net from the right flank. The goal was Samuels' first of the season. The Bulldogs' midfielder also registered two assists in Friday's victory.

Later in Samford's win, Taule gave the Bulldogs a 4-0 lead with her first career goal in the 79th minute of play. Blanton earned an assist on Taule's score.

"The difference between today and last week was that tonight we were able to capitalize on our scoring chances," Yelton said. "Last week when we tied Mercer, we had plenty of opportunities to score, but we just couldn't find the back of the net. We have a young squad, the players are growing up a bit, and it was fantastic seeing our younger players do such a wonderful job out there tonight."

The Samford University soccer team will next be in action Sunday at 6 p.m. (CST) as the Bulldogs square off against their cross-town foe UAB Blazers in an early-season rivalry match to be held at Bulldog Field.