Oct. 25, 2011

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The first-place Samford University soccer team will play its final match of the 2011 regular season Wednesday as the Bulldogs welcome the Chattanooga Mocs to the Samford Track and Soccer Stadium for a Southern Conference contest slated to begin at 7 p.m. (CDT).

Samford (10-5-2, 8-0-2 SoCon) heads into the match basking in the glow of securing its first SoCon regular-season championship in school history. With their 1-0 title-clinching victory against Georgia Southern on Sunday, the Bulldogs notched their first conference championship in the SoCon and their fifth under Head Coach Todd Yelton.

As a member of the Ohio Valley Conference, Samford won four-consecutive regular-season titles from 2003 to 2006.

The Bulldogs are in the midst of a six-match winning streak and have not been defeated in over five weeks. Since a hard-fought loss at Vanderbilt on Sept. 18, Samford has rattled off victories against UNCG 1-0, College of Charleston 2-1, Wofford 3-0, Furman 2-1, Appalachian State 2-1, Western Carolina 1-0, Davidson 2-0 and Georgia Southern 1-0.

With a win or a draw against Chattanooga (6-9-2, 1-8-1 SoCon) on Wednesday, the Bulldogs would set a school record with an 11-match undefeated streak. Samford has already tied the current record of 10-consecutive matches without a loss, which most recently achieved from Oct. 2-Nov. 6, 2009.

In 2009, the Bulldogs tallied a 6-0-4 record during their undefeated streak, while Samford has posted an 8-0-2 mark during this current stretch.

Chattanooga enters Wednesday's contest looking to rebound from back-to-back losses against Davidson 2-1 and Georgia Southern 2-1 last week. The Mocs have been defeated in eight of their last 10 matches, but recently tallied a decisive 3-0 victory at Western Carolina on Oct. 14. Then, on Oct. 16, Chattanooga battled to a 1-1 draw with Appalachian State.

The Mocs' Becca Smith enters the match as the SoCon's leading scorer with 15 goals. Chattanooga's explosive forward from Murfreesboro, Tenn., has also added five assists this season and leads the conference in points with 35.

Samford goalkeeper Alyssa Whitehead was honored by the SoCon on Tuesday as she was named the SoCon Player of the Week, it was announced by the league office. The Bulldogs' senior goalkeeper from Hattiesburg, Miss., registered a pair of key shutouts against SoCon opponents Davidson 2-0 and Georgia Southern last week.

Whitehead earned her fifth and sixth shutouts of the 2011 season last week as she helped guide the Bulldogs to home victories against Davidson and Georgia Southern. On Sunday, Samford's 6-foot-3 senior from Hattiesburg, Miss., made three key stops in leading the Bulldogs to their first SoCon regular season title.

Whitehead faced 13 shots last week and improved her single-season record in saves to 93. With shutouts against Davidson and Georgia Southern, she increased her school-record total in the category to 32.

Samford owns a 4-1 all-time record against Chattanooga and has been victorious in the each of the previous four meetings between the teams. The Bulldogs' only loss in the series occurred in the first match of the rivalry, 2-0, on Sept. 21. Last season, Samford earned a 3-0 victory on the road in Chattanooga, Tenn.

In the Bulldogs' 2010 win, Samford received goals from Trine Taule, senior Paige Lanter and junior Lauren Cook. The Bulldogs also received a record-setting 12th shutout of the season from Whitehead.

Following Wednesday's regular-season finale against Chattanooga, the Samford University soccer team will next be in action Sunday at 4 p.m. (CDT) as the Bulldogs host a first-round match in the 2011 SoCon Tournament. The contest will be held at the Samford Track and Soccer Stadium, but the Bulldogs' first-round opponent will not be determined until the completion of all of Wednesday's conference matches.

GameTracker - Chattanooga at Samford