BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The Samford University soccer team will begin play in a critical two-match Southern Conference homestand Friday at 7 p.m. (CDT) as the first-place Bulldogs square off against the Western Carolina Catamounts in a key conference showdown to be held at the Samford Track and Soccer Stadium.
 
Samford (6-5-1, 3-0-1 SoCon) heads into Friday's contest riding the positive momentum of a 3-1 road victory at Wofford on Sunday.
 
In their win over the Terriers, the Bulldogs trailed 1-0 midway through the second half of play before Brittany Hoffman, Michelle Moll and Trine Taule all scored goals in a span of 11 minutes and three seconds. Hoffman, Samford's sophomore forward from Knoxville, Tenn., tallied the equalizing goal in the 73^rd minute. The score was Hoffman's team-leading fourth goal of the 2012 campaign.
 
Less than five minutes later, the Bulldogs' Moll registered the game-winning goal at 77:31, as she rifled home a shot from 10 yards out into the bottom left corner. The score was Moll's second of the season, both of which have been game-winners.
 
Taule, the Bulldogs' junior midfielder, extended Samford's lead over Wofford to 3-1 with a goal in the 84^th minute of play. The score was her second of the season and was set up beautifully by Shanika Thomas. On the decisive goal, Thomas sent in a perfectly-placed crossing pass that Taule easily collected and blasted into the top right corner.
 
With Sunday's 3-1 victory, the Bulldogs extended their undefeated streak against SoCon opponents to 18-consecutive matches. Samford has not been beaten by a league rival since Nov. 7, 2010, in the championship title game of the SoCon Tournament.
 
Western Carolina (5-6-1, 1-2-1 SoCon) enters Friday's contest with aspirations of snapping a two-match winning streak. Following a momentous 1-0 victory at UNCG on Sept. 23, the Catamounts have dropped back-to-back home conference matchups versus Davidson, 2-0, and Georgia Southern, 1-0.
 
In Sunday's hard-fought setback against Georgia Southern, Western Carolina scored first to take the lead when freshman Markie-Lynn Studnicky took a pass from fellow freshman Amanda Schwartz and beat the Eagles' goalkeeper, Katie Merson, to send it to the back of the net at 63:24.
 
The goal by Studnicky was her fifth of the season, which leads the team. The assist by Schwartz was her third on the year.
 
After Western Carolina took the 1-0 lead, the Eagles scored two unanswered goals to come from behind to defeat the Catamounts. A goal by the Eagles' Alex Murphy tied the game at the 66:31 mark and Sydnie Van Curen scored the game-winning unassisted goal at 73:49.
 
The Catamounts' best scoring opportunity to start the second half came at 50:24. Christine Kaznowski came from the left side and sent a scorching shot to the right side of the goal, but it nicked the goal post and skipped out.
 
Georgia Southern had 14 shots in the match and Western Carolina ended the game with 11, nine coming in the second half. Merson had four saves for the Eagles and sophomore goalkeeper Jennifer Lauer gave up two goals and had three saves.
 
Samford owns a 4-1-1 all-time record against Western Carolina and is in the midst of a three-match winning streak in the series. The Bulldogs have never been defeated by the Catamounts in Birmingham and registered a pair of victories against Western Carolina last season.
 
In last year's regular-season matchup, Samford tallied a 1-0 road triumph against the Catamounts before posting a 2-1 win in the opening round of the 2011 SoCon Tournament.
 
Friday will also mark Samford's annual “Kickin' it for Kids with Cancer” game. The athletic department will be auctioning off game-worn green jerseys starting at $40. The silent auction will take place at the entrance to the stadium. The auction will begin at 6 p.m., and run the entire first half.
 
“Kickin' it for Kids with Cancer” t-shirts will be sold for a donation of $5, while concession cups will be sold for $1 and green Celebrate Home Candles will be sold for $5. All proceeds benefit the Austin Hatcher Foundation for Pediatric Cancer.
 
Following Friday's SoCon home match against Western Carolina, the Samford University soccer team will next be in action Sunday at 2 p.m. (CDT) as the Bulldogs continue their key conference homestand versus the Appalachian State Mountaineers in a contest to be held at the Samford Track and Soccer Stadium.