Aug. 26, 2011

Box Score

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The Samford University soccer team was defeated by the UAB Blazers 1-0 on Friday in a cross-town rivalry match held at West Campus Field. UAB's Pascale Pinard tallied the game-winning goal during the 78th minute in the second half.

With the loss, Samford (1-2) dropped its second straight contest against an in-state foe. On Sunday, the Bulldogs suffered a similar one-goal defeat at home at the brand-new Samford Track and Soccer Stadium 2-1.

UAB (1-2) earned its first victory of the 2011 campaign Friday. Last week, the Blazers opened the season with a two-match road trip to Oklahoma and fell prey to lopsided losses at Oklahoma 5-0 and fifth-ranked Oklahoma State 4-1.

Pinard, UAB's leading goal-scorer this season, tallied her second score of the 2011campaign versus Samford.

The teams played 77 minutes of scoreless soccer Friday before Pinard notched her decisive goal at exactly 77:10. On Sunday, the Blazers' native of Trois-Rivieres, Quebec, tallied her first goal of the season in the 80th minute as she rifled a shot from 40 yards out. On the goal, the ball hit the bottom of the crossbar and snuck over the goal line for UAB's first score of the season.

Samford's senior goalkeeper Alyssa Whitehead recorded a match-high seven saves Friday. The Bulldogs' 6-foot-3 native of Hattiesburg, Miss., stopped two shots in the first half and tallied five stops in the final period.

With UAB's win, the Blazers evened their all-time record against Samford at 2-2. In all four matches of the rivalry, the home team has been victorious. Last season, the Bulldogs registered a similar 1-0 victory at home at Bulldog Field. Samford's Kaley Blanton tallied the game-winning match in last year's matchup against UAB.

The Bulldogs' offensive attack was paced Friday by Shanika Thomas, Amanda Abbott, Joy Grove, Kaley Blanton and Katie Proud. All six of the aforementioned Samford players rattled off a shot apiece.

The Samford University soccer team will next be in action Sunday at 2 p.m., as the Bulldogs welcome the 25th-ranked Memphis Tigers to the Samford Track and Soccer Stadium for another key non-conference matchup.