Aug. 21, 2011

Box Score

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The Samford University soccer team scored a second-half goal and outshot the Alabama Crimson Tide in the final 45 minutes of play Sunday, but couldn't overcome an early 2-0 deficit at home in a 2-1 loss held at the Samford Track and Soccer Stadium. Alabama's Laura Lee Smith tallied a pair of goals in the opening half, while the Bulldogs' Sarah Wilkinson notched her second-half score during the 53rd minute.

"Our slow start was my fault," said Samford head coach Todd Yelton. "We sat in too much and we should have been pressing them more. I got it wrong tactically, so the responsibility has to be on me. In the second half, I thought we were the better side. We came close to leveling the game, but you know it's a 90 minute game and not a 45 minute game."

Samford (1-1) allowed its first goal of the 2011 campaign in the 15th minute of Sunday's contest as Smith tallied a score at exactly 14:30. On the goal, which was her second of the season and her first of the match, Smith fired home a deflected shot from five yards out.

Smith, the Crimson Tide's true freshman from Jackson, Miss., was in the right place at the right time as Samford goalkeeper Alyssa Whitehead stopped Lindsey Sillers' shot, but the ball bounded directly back to Smith for the put-back. Sillers was awarded with an assist on the play.

Less than five minutes later, Alabama (2-0) used the same combination to register its second goal of the evening.

At 19:15, Sillers sent a crossing pass from the right side of the field into the box at approximately the eight-yard mark where Smith headed a shot into the corner of the net. The goal, Smith's second of the match and her third of the season, gave the Crimson Tide an early 2-0 advantage. Sillers' assist was her second of the 2011 campaign.

"At the end of the day, Alabama had all of the play of it in the first half and they were able to score two goals," Yelton said. "We had a significant amount of the play in the second half, but we were only able to get one goal, so at the end of the day it just wasn't good enough."

Samford was outshot in the first half by a total of 14-1 and trailed at the intermission by a score of 2-0.

Despite their lackluster play in the opening period, the Bulldogs bounced back in the second half and outperformed their counterparts from the Southeastern Conference.

Samford outshot Alabama 9-8 in the final 45 minutes of play and dominated the Crimson Tide in corner kicks 8-2.

The turning point of Sunday's match occurred in the 53rd minute of play when the Bulldogs' Wilkinson headed home Samford's goal to trim Alabama's lead to 2-1 with 37 minutes to play.

From that point on, the Bulldogs played with an extra level of enthusiasm and spent a predominant portion of the second half on the Crimson Tide's half of the field.

"I talked to our players at halftime and I told them that the first 45 minutes were behind us and that we still had 45 more minutes to play," said Yelton. "I was really happy with the way the players responded to the challenge. On the goal, Weathington whipped in a great ball and Sarah finished it. I thought we were going to get another one there in the next five to 10 minutes, but it didn't materialize. No matter what, I think we can build off the second half for sure."

Samford senior Shannon Weathington sent in the crossing pass to assist on Wilkinson's second-half score. The assist was Weathington's second of the young 2011 season.

For the second straight match, Samford true freshman Amanda Abbott led the team in shot attempts with three. Junior defender Sabbath McKiernan-Allen followed with two.

Whitehead, the Bulldogs' All-Southern Conference performer from Hattiesburg, Miss., tallied a season-high eight saves Sunday. She was one of seven Samford players to log all 90 minutes on the field against the Crimson Tide.

Alabama remained undefeated on the season after opening its 2011 schedule with a dominant 7-1 performance against Kennesaw State on Friday.

"Todd (Bramble) has his team playing really well and Molly (Atherton) is a handful in the center of the park," said Yelton. "Laura Lee (Smith) is an extremely physical player who scored a big header tonight. Alabama is a quality side and I think they will do really well this season. Right now, we just need to turn our attention to UAB for Friday night."

The Samford University soccer team will next be in action Friday at 7 p.m., as the Bulldogs square off against the UAB Blazers in a cross-town rivalry match to be held at West Campus Field.