BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The first-place Samford University soccer team will arguably face its toughest test of the 2012 Southern Conference season Sunday at 2 p.m. (CDT) as the Bulldogs welcome the resurgent Appalachian State Mountaineers to the Samford Track and Soccer Complex for a midseason conference duel.
 
Samford (7-5-1, 4-0-1 SoCon) heads into the contest riding the positive momentum of a five-match undefeated streak. Since opening conference play on Sept. 21, the Bulldogs have earned impressive wins against Georgia Southern, Davidson, Wofford and Western Carolina. Samford has also played to a hard-fought 2-2 draw with Furman.
 
On Friday, the Bulldogs used goals from Michelle Moll, Amanda Abbott and Trine Taule to defeat the Western Carolina Catamounts, 3-2. With the win, Samford extended its undefeated streak against SoCon opponents to 19-consecutive matches. The Bulldogs have not been beaten by a conference rival in nearly two years, dating back to Nov. 7, 2010.
 
Midway through the second half of Friday's contest, the score of the match was knotted at 2-2. Samford's Amanda Abbott had just given the Bulldogs a 2-1 advantage in the 59^th minute of play, but Western Carolina quickly answered with a goal from McKenzie Hallstrom at 62:14 to even the score at 2-2.
 
The second half continued to be a back-and-forth battle featuring quality scoring chances from both sides when Samford's Taule headed home the game-winning goal with less than 21 minutes remaining. On the Bulldogs' pretty, decisive score, sophomore Ariane Lukens sent in a deep centering pass from the right flank that Taule perfectly timed and headed home to the left of the goalkeeper.
 
The goal was Taule's third of the 2012 season and the 14^th of her Samford career. With her score, the Bulldogs' junior native of Frekhaug, Norway, moved into a tie for ninth place on the school's all-time goals list. Lukens, Samford's sophomore transfer from South Carolina, registered her first Bulldog assist on the play.
 
Appalachian State (7-5, 4-1 SoCon) enters Sunday's contest riding the positive momentum of a four-match winning streak. Since coming up short in double overtime against UNCG on Sept. 21, the Mountaineers have rattled off consecutive SoCon wins versus Elon, 2-1, Georgia Southern, 1-0, Davidson, 1-0, and Chattanooga, 2-1.
 
In Friday's overtime victory at Chattanooga, freshman Samantha Childress' golden goal in the 100th minute of overtime clinched the key triumph for Appalachian State.
 
Sunday's match will be the fifth all-time meeting between the Bulldogs and Mountaineers. Samford boasts an unblemished 4-0 record in the series and has outscored Appalachian State by a total of 8-1. Last season, the teams met in Boone, N.C., and the Bulldogs' Joy Grove scored a golden goal in overtime to lift Samford to a thrilling 2-1 road victory.
 
Following Sunday's SoCon showdown with Appalachian State, the Samford University soccer team will next be in action Friday at 3 p.m. (CDT) as the Bulldogs begin play in a critical two-match road trip against The Citadel Bulldogs to be held at WLI Field in Charleston, S.C.