BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The Samford University soccer team will begin its quest for a second straight Southern Conference Tournament title Sunday at 2 p.m. (CDT) as the Bulldogs welcome the College of Charleston Cougars to the Samford Track and Soccer Stadium for a marquee opening-round contest.
 
Samford (11-6-2) heads into the eight-team SoCon Tournament as the No. 2 seed after finishing conference play with an 8-1-2 record. The Bulldogs are in the midst of a two-match winning streak and have been victorious in eight of their last 11 outings.
 
Last season, Samford defeated the Cougars, 1-0, in the SoCon Tournament title match and advanced to the NCAA Tournament for a third time in seven years. The Bulldogs squared off against the No. 6-ranked Florida State in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament and battled to a tough 2-0 defeat.
 
Samford enters Sunday's match riding the positive momentum of a two-match winning streak. Since dropping a hard-fought 1-0 decision to UNCG on Oct. 19, the Bulldogs have posted back-to-back victories against Elon, 2-1, and Chattanooga, 3-0.
 
In its recent shutout victory at Chattanooga, Samford outshot the Lady Mocs, 26-3, and posted a lopsided 12-0 advantage in corner kicks. The Bulldogs' goals were scored by Trine Taule, Michelle Moll and Lindsey Hansen. Samford's young goalkeepers Melissa Montgomery and Jessica Perry combined to record the shutout, the team's fifth of the 2012 campaign.
 
The Bulldogs' juniors Taule and Moll scored their fifth goals of the season in Wednesday victory against Chattanooga. Samford's first-half goals were both unassisted and gave the Bulldogs a comfortable 2-0 lead at the half.
 
Taule's tally was scored at 1:26 into the match, while Moll's goal came in the 28^th minute of play. Samford's Trine Taule is ranked ninth on the school's all-time scoring list with 16 career goals.
 
Midway through the second half, Lindsey Hansen scored her fourth goal of the season to give the Bulldogs their decisive 3-0 shutout victory.
 
Samford's Perry, who played in goal for the Bulldogs in the second half, registered three key saves, while Chattanooga's goalkeeper, Lauren Thomas, was forced to make 13 stops. So far this season, the Bulldogs have outshot their opponents by a total of 290-199.
 
Head Coach Todd Yelton is Samford's all-time winningest coach with 135 victories as a Bulldog. Since taking the reins to the program in 2002, Yelton has led his team to five regular-season conference titles, three NCAA Tournament appearances and a pair of conference tournament championships.
 
College of Charleston (6-11-1) heads into the SoCon Tournament with a full head of steam after earning a 1-0 cross-town rivalry victory against The Citadel on Wednesday.
 
The Cougars' Maryam Buazza scored the game-winning goal by hammering home a corner kick in the second minute, while College of Charleston also offered a comprehensive defensive performance to keep The Citadel off of the scoreboard.
 
The Cougars have alternated wins and losses in their last six matches down the stretch and their last four matches have all been decided by one goal.
 
College of Charleston will face the league's second-best statistical offense which averages 1.63 goals per game. The Cougars have been successful in doing so in its recent attempts against Samford, holding the Bulldogs to just one goal in its past two tries, but have been unable to produce a goal of their own.
 
Samford and College of Charleston have developed a heated rivalry during the Bulldogs' short five-year tenure in the SoCon. Sunday's match will be the ninth all-time meeting between the teams as Samford owns a 5-1-2 advantage in the rivalry. Earlier this year, on Oct. 14, the Bulldogs earned a hard-fought 1-0 victory at College of Charleston.
 
In Samford's triumph, which was held at Patriots Point in Mt. Pleasant, S.C., the Bulldogs used a key second-half goal from Moll to post the 1-0 road victory. Moll's goal was scored in the 57^th minute of play as Samford outshot the Cougars, 8-6.
 
The Bulldogs' sophomore goalkeeper Montgomery notched her second straight shutout and recorded her third of the 2012 campaign. Samford's native of Georgetown, Texas, finished with three key saves and was later named the SoCon Player of the Week.
 
Sunday's match will be live-streamed for FREE via Samford Sports TV. Head to SamfordSports.com/showcase and click on the event.
 
The winner of Sunday's opening-round match will advance to the semifinal round of the 2012 SoCon Tournament, which is also being held at the Samford Track and Soccer Stadium. The victor of second-seeded Samford and seventh-seeded College of Charleston is slated to play the winner of No. 3 Furman and No. 6 Davidson at 7:30 p.m. (CDT) on Friday.
 
The championship match of the 2012 SoCon Tournament will be held Sunday at 1 p.m. (CDT) at the Samford Track and Soccer Stadium and will be broadcast live on ESPN3.