Aug. 15, 2011
Box Score
STARKVILLE, Miss. -
In its final exhibition match of the 2011 season, the Samford University soccer team dropped a 3-0 decision on the road Monday against the Mississippi State Bulldogs in a preseason contest held at the MSU Soccer Field.
Samford (0-1-1) and Mississippi State (1-0-0) battled to 72 scoreless minutes of play before Elisabeth Sullivan tallied the game-winning goal at exactly 72:28. Down the stretch, MSU's Jasmine Simmons later tacked on a pair of scores to extend the Bulldogs' winning advantage to 3-0. Simmons' late goals occurred in the 87th and 88th minutes of play.
On Sullivan's decisive score, Mississippi State's Tarah Henderson registered the assist, while Sullivan and Amy Hoover helped set up each of Simmons' late goals.
Samford's starting goalkeeper Alyssa Whitehead accumulated 10 saves in 73:55 minutes of action. MSU goalkeeper Skylar Rosson registered a shutout and played all 90 minutes of the match.
Offensively, Samford's attack was paced by senior Shannon Weathington who finished the contest with four shot attempts, two of which were on goal. Sophomore Trine Taule, the Bulldogs' leading scorer with nine goals last season, rattled off a pair of shot attempts Monday, but only played 32 minutes.
Samford concluded the match with four players earning all 90 minutes of playing time. True freshmen Amanda Abbott and Katie Danehy both earned 90 minutes of game action, while sophomore Mary Grabowsky and junior Sabbath McKiernan-Allen also battled for the entire contest.
With Monday's loss at Mississippi State, Samford closed out its preseason exhibition play with an 0-1-1 record. Both of the Bulldogs' matches came against Southeast Conference opponents and Samford will open its regular-season schedule Friday at home versus Belmont. The match will be the season opener of the 2011 campaign and will be held at 7 p.m. (CST) at the Bulldogs' Samford Soccer Complex.
Samford's first exhibition match of the preseason was held Friday against the Tennessee Lady Vols. The Bulldogs and Lady Vols fought to a 0-0 draw at the Samford Soccer Complex.
