Oct. 21, 2011

Box Score

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The first-place Samford University soccer team used goals from freshman Brittany Hoffman and sophomore Michelle Moll to tally a 2-0 Senior Night victory against the Davidson Wildcats in a critical Southern Conference contest held at the Samford Track and Soccer Stadium.

"I thought our players did an outstanding job tonight," said Samford head coach Todd Yelton. "We did a great job of connecting passes and Davidson is a really good team. They are extremely well-coached and I think that Greg Ashton is one of the best head coaches in the league. Brittany scored a big goal for us in the first half and then Michelle was able to get a key one there to give us a little bit of breathing room. I was very happy with the way the team played tonight."

With Friday's shutout victory, Samford (9-5-2, 7-0-2 SoCon) extended its winning streak to five-consecutive matches and remained undefeated in conference play this season. The Bulldogs currently hold a one-point advantage in the SoCon standings with two contests remaining, but second-place UNCG is nipping at Samford's heels.

"UNCG won tonight too, so they are still in a really good spot as well," Yelton said. "Anybody would want to control their own destiny rather than relying on help from someone else, but Georgia Southern will be a really tough test for us on Sunday. They are playing extremely well right now, they are a rejuvenated bunch and that's all we're thinking about at the moment. We'll just take it one match at a time."

Davidson (7-8-2, 5-4 SoCon) suffered its second straight defeat Friday and was held scoreless for only the fourth time this season. With the loss, the Wildcats moved to 1-1-3 in its all-time series against Samford. Last year, the Bulldogs knocked Davidson out of the SoCon Tournament with a 4-3 shootout victory in the final match held at Bulldog Field.

Samford outshot Davidson 13-7 on Friday and limited the Wildcats to one shot on goal. The Bulldogs also held Davidson's explosive forwards Becca Fisher and Stephanie Piperno to one shot apiece.

"I thought we did a great job defensively," said Yelton. "Davidson's Fisher and Piperno are both really good players and they were a handful, but our backs did a very good job tonight. We struggled a bit in the first few minutes of the match, but after we made a few adjustments our back four was very good for us tonight."

Samford jumped out to its 1-0 first-half lead in the 25th minute of play as Hoffman rifled a shot from 25 yards into the top right corner of the net.

On the game-winning goal, the Bulldogs' Lindsay Matern played a ball to Hoffman's feet on the left flank. Hoffman faked a move to her left then quickly turned to her right and fired a laser into the far corner. The score was Hoffman's second of the season, while Matern's assist proved to be her first of the 2011 campaign.

"Brittany has been progressing really well for us coming back from her injury a year ago," Yelton said. "On the goal tonight, it was huge for us, and once again she just hit it very well. I don't think she could have hit it much better."

The Bulldogs' senior goalkeeper Alyssa Whitehead registered her fifth shutout of the 2011 season and improved her school-record total in the category to 31. The previous career record in shutouts was held by former Samford-great Crystal Royall, who finished with 24.5.

With less than 15 minutes remaining in Friday's contest, Samford's Michelle Moll increased the Bulldogs' lead to 2-0 with a spectacular juke move and scoring shot from 20 yards out.

On the goal, which was Moll's third of the 2011 season, she gathered a pass from Trine Taule on the left wing, dribbled past a pair of Davidson defenders and then slowed up a bit as she neared a third Wildcat. Once she approached the final Davidson defender, Moll ducked to her left, spun all the way around while shifting the ball to her right foot and then boomed a shot high into the corner of the net.

Taule, who was accredited with an assist on the play, earned her fourth helper of the season.

Prior to Friday's Senior Night contest, Samford's four seniors were honored with a special presentation. The Bulldogs' 2011 senior class consists of Shannon Weathington, Sarah Wilkinson, Matern and Whitehead.

"This was a great win for our seniors and I know our entire team really wanted to get a win for them tonight," said Yelton. "Sarah Wilkinson is the emotional leader of this team and she gave her normal workmanlike effort out there for us.

"The other thing that was really cool was that our players realized that we were playing for Hatch and I think that kind of sunk in a bit. We wanted to play well for our seniors tonight, but we also wanted to play well for the kids that are dealing with cancer and realizing that we're very blessed and fortunate to be able to do this."

Friday's match also marked Samford's inaugural "Kickin' It For Kids With Cancer" Pediatric Cancer Night. The Bulldogs raised nearly $2,000 to benefit the Austin Hatcher Foundation for Pediatric Cancer.

The Austin Hatcher Foundation for Pediatric Cancer's mission is to erase the effects of pediatric cancer and optimize each child's quality of life through essential specialized intervention beginning at the time of diagnoses and continuing throughout survivorship.

The Foundation provides services to children with cancer as well as their families through its cancer care center, Hatch's House of Hope. The Foundation provides all services at no cost to the families. Services are funded solely by the generous donations of its supporters.

On Friday, Samford's game-worn jerseys were auctioned for donations. Pediatric cancer tee-shirts were also sold for a $5 donation, as well as pediatric cancer cups for a $1 donation. Samford's Celebrating Home candles were also sold for a $10 donation.

A dinner for all the children with pediatric cancer was served prior to the game and was provided by Hamburger Heaven.

The Samford University soccer team will next be in action Sunday at 2 p.m. (CDT) as the Bulldogs play host to the Georgia Southern Eagles in another key SoCon matchup to be held at the Samford Track and Soccer Stadium.