Box Score BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- The Samford University soccer team suffered its first Southern Conference loss in nearly two years Friday as the Bulldogs dropped a tough 1-0 decision at home against the UNCG Spartans in a critical conference contest held at the Samford Track and Soccer Stadium.
 
“I thought that outside of five seconds tonight, we played very well,” said Samford head coach Todd Yelton. “If you don't respect the game, then the game has the ability to punish you. We didn't respect it on the corner, gave up a free header and UNCG's player hit it cleanly, but we didn't challenge her. UNCG was very passionate in their defending and Steve (Nugent) had them very well organized tonight.”
 
With Friday's setback, Samford (9-6-2, 6-1-2 SoCon) suffered its first loss to a conference opponent since a similar 1-0 defeat against UNCG (10-6-1, 7-1-1 SoCon) in the championship match of the SoCon Tournament on Nov. 7, 2010. The Bulldogs' school-record undefeated streak in conference play was snapped at 22 straight matches.
 
With their win Friday, the Spartans moved into the driver's seat in SoCon play and set themselves up for a likely run at the regular-season championship. UNCG currently leads Samford, 22-20, in total conference points as both teams close out their SoCon schedules with matches against Elon and Chattanooga.
 
“We gave up a lot of things tonight,” Yelton said. “We gave up the streak and we gave up our hold on first place. Now, we're going to need help to change our luck.”
 
Samford dominated the pace of play Friday and outshot UNCG by a margin of 19-6, but the Spartans' Katherine Rodriguez tallied the lone stat that counts as she scored the game-winning goal in the 41^st minute. The score was her second of the 2012 campaign.
 
On the decisive first-half goal, UNCG's true freshman defender headed home a corner kick from junior midfielder Nitang Jones. The assist proved to be Jones' second of the season and set up Rodriguez perfectly in the middle of the box. The corner kick was driven directly to approximately the 10-yard line where Rodriguez met it in the air and found the back of the net.
 
“We only gave up one corner in the first period and one corner in the second period,” said Yelton. “I can't really think of another great scoring opportunity that they had outside of that, but one's as good as a million when it's over. I thought that Steve did an outstanding job tonight and that he did a better job than I did. His players earned a well-deserved victory.”
 
UNCG held a 1-0 lead at halftime despite an 11-4 disparity in shot attempts. The Bulldogs went on to tally another eight shots in the final period, but the Spartans' goalkeeper Jamie Simmons made a number of quality saves on Samford's key chances.
 
“I felt like their goalkeeping was quite good,” Yelton said. “We had a lot of shot attempts and a lot of corners, but in the end of the day this game is about putting the ball in the back of the net and UNCG did a better job of that tonight. It's not easy to come here and get a win and they did.”
 
Samford goalkeeper Melissa Montgomery, who is the reigning SoCon Player of the Week, finished with a pair of saves of her own Friday, while UNCG's goal was not her fault.
 
Late in the match, with close to five minutes remaining in regulation, junior Michelle Moll nearly tied the score with a right-footed shot that just missed the far corner of the goal. On the play, Samford's Joy Grove sent in a beautiful forwarding pass to Moll as she was camped out on the left flank. She gathered the pass, shifted past a UNCG defender and skipped a shot that skimmed the outside of the right post.
 
“She was just a little bit off balance there at the end,” Yelton said. “Joy made a great run to get to her and it came across, but that's just how it went for us tonight. We were just a bit off. We were just a touch off in several situations. In a game like this, you have to be sharp in all facets and we weren't.
 
“Tonight, we weren't as sharp as we needed to be and that comes back on my shoulders as a head coach to make sure that I have our team ready to play. Whoever we play in this league is going to be a very difficult task. There are very good players throughout this league and the hard pill to swallow is that we didn't defend well on a corner and it cost us.”
 
The Samford University soccer team will next be in action Sunday at 2 p.m. (CDT) as the Bulldogs remain at home for another key SoCon matchup with the Elon Phoenix to be held at the Samford Track and Soccer Stadium.