May 24, 2011

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The Samford University soccer team officially released its 2011 schedule Tuesday as Head Coach Todd Yelton announced a challenging slate of matches for the Bulldogs this fall. Samford's upcoming schedule is highlighted by home matches against in-state opponents Auburn and Alabama, as well as a cross-town duel versus budding-rival UAB.

Additionally, the Bulldogs will square off against Southeastern Conference opponents Tennessee, Mississippi State and Vanderbilt, and will also play host to nationally-ranked Memphis. The Bulldogs are also scheduled to travel to Georgia for a key regional matchup against Kennesaw State.

"This is going to be a strongly demanding schedule with many quality opponents," said Yelton. "I think that we have a lot of great home contests for people to come out and see, especially with us hosting Tennessee, Alabama, Auburn and Memphis here in Birmingham. Those are all traditionally strong teams and our goal for our nonconference schedule is to get us ready for conference play."

Samford will begin its 2011 slate with a pair of exhibition contests against SEC foes Tennessee and Mississippi State. On Aug. 12, the Bulldogs will play their first match in the brand-new, multi-million-dollar Samford Soccer Stadium at 6 p.m. (CDT) against Tennessee. Three days later, Samford is scheduled to play at Mississippi State in its final exhibition match of the preseason.

"With the new stadium opening, it didn't really affect how we scheduled too much, just because it was already hard to find people to play us at home even while we were at the old facility," Yelton said. "Moving to the new stadium is amazing, but we still have so many fond memories from what we accomplished at Bulldog Field. Throughout my time at Samford, we've always been very good at home, so we would like to continue that this season at our new stadium."

The Bulldogs will open their regular-season schedule with home matches against Belmont (Aug. 19) and Alabama (Aug. 21). Last year, Samford opened its 2010 campaign at Alabama and dropped a hard-fought 2-1 decision against the Crimson Tide.

On Aug. 26, the Bulldogs will continue their rivalry with cross-town foe UAB in a contest to be held at West Campus Field. Last season, Samford earned a 1-0 victory in the series held at Bulldog Field. Two days after their matchup at UAB, the Bulldogs will square off against another top-flight Conference USA squad as Memphis will come to the Samford Soccer Stadium on Aug. 28.

Following a key regional matchup at Kennesaw State (Sept. 2), Samford will return home to host its biggest contest of the nonconference schedule - a Sept. 9 home duel against Auburn. Last season, the Bulldogs dropped a hard-fought 2-0 decision on the road to the Tigers.

"If you look at our last five to 10 years here at Samford, our nonconference schedule has always been demanding," said Yelton. "When I first got here, we played those tough matches for more of a learning experience, but now with the quality of player that we've been able to attract to our program, we play these matches and we expect to win them."

Samford will embark on its most difficult road trip of the 2011 season Sept. 17 as the Bulldogs begin travel for a three-match stretch at Vanderbilt, Elon and UNCG. Last year, Elon and UNCG handed Samford its only two losses in Southern Conference play.

"Playing on the road against quality opponents always makes your job difficult," Yelton said. "Playing Vanderbilt on a Sunday afternoon won't be an easy task in itself, but then we'll have a quick turnaround in going into SoCon play with tough matches at Elon and UNCG. It will be a difficult task for us. UNCG is coming off a year in which they were ranked as high as No. 12 in the nation, and they are obviously the team in the league that everyone has been chasing a bit. We've been fortunate enough to get a quality win over them at their place and hopefully we'll be able to do it again this season."

Throughout the heart of the SoCon schedule, the Bulldogs will host College of Charleston (Sept. 30), The Citadel (Oct. 2) and Wofford (Oct. 6) in consecutive matches before hitting the road for another three-game road trip versus Furman (Oct. 9), Appalachian State (Oct. 14) and Western Carolina (Oct. 16).

Samford will close out its 2011 regular-season schedule with home matches against Davidson (Oct. 21), Georgia Southern (Oct. 23) and Chattanooga (Oct. 26). Prior to the Bulldogs' contest versus Davidson, Samford will honor its 2011 senior class comprised of Alyssa Whitehead, Sarah Wilkinson, Lauren Cook and Mary Shelton Bryant with a special Senior Night presentation.

"The SoCon is a very challenging league," said Yelton. "Coming through our nonconference schedule, I think we'll have a greater view of how our team is competing as we head into SoCon play. Hopefully, we'll be able to take the lessons learned in the nonconference and use that as an impetus for us to win the SoCon championship."

The semifinal rounds of the 2011 SoCon Tournament will be held in Greensboro, N.C., at the UNCG Soccer Stadium (3,540) from Nov. 4-6. The opening round of the eight-team tournament will be held at the home facility of the higher-seeded teams. The winner of the highly competitive event will earn an automatic berth in the NCAA Tournament.

Samford's expectations are high for the 2011 campaign. The Bulldogs return eight starters from last year's team that turned in a 13-6-3 overall record and advanced to the championship match of the SoCon Tournament. Samford also earned a stellar 8-2-1 record in conference play en route to a second-place finish in the league standings.

The Bulldogs' 2011 talent-laden roster will also boast seven additional returning players as well as six highly-touted incoming freshmen.

The Samford University soccer team will begin competitive play in its 2011 schedule Aug. 12 at 6 p.m. (CDT) as the Bulldogs welcome the Tennessee Lady Vols to Birmingham for a key exhibition contest to be held at the first match played at the pristine Samford Soccer Stadium.

2011 Samford Soccer Schedule