BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The Samford University soccer team will continue its three-match, season-opening road stretch Friday at 6 p.m. (CDT) as the Bulldogs travel to Tuscaloosa for a key in-state contest against the Alabama Crimson Tide to be held at the Alabama Soccer Stadium.
 
“It's early in the season, but we still have a lot of big matches ahead of us,” said Samford head coach Todd Yelton. “Todd (Bramble – Alabama Head Coach) has done an outstanding job with his team and they obviously had a great season last year. They are already off to a great start this season and they will certainly be a big challenge for us.”
 
Samford (0-1) heads into Friday's match looking to bounce back from a 4-0 season-opening loss at Tennessee last week. Against the Lady Vols, the Bulldogs trailed 1-0 at the half and turned in a number of scoring opportunities before Tennessee's Amy Harrison shifted the momentum of the match in the second half of play by scoring a pair of goals in the 53^rd and 60^th minutes of play.
 
The Lady Vols later notched their fourth goal of the evening in the 67^th minute as Kylie Bono tallied an unassisted score from the upper right corner of the box.
 
Samford finished last Friday's contest with seven shot attempts and was paced offensively by junior midfielder Jordan Johnson's three shots. The Bulldogs' transfer from Florida State was also responsible for both of Samford's shots on goal.
 
Jessica Perry, a true freshman, made her first career start in goal and finished with three saves. The Bulldogs' native of Webster Groves, Mo., logged all 90 minutes of game action for Samford.
 
“As a team this last week, we just worked on our mentality and our confidence,” Yelton said. “I believe that confident players are generally successful players, and when we watched the tape from the Tennessee match there were definitely some negative points, but there were also a great number of positives as well. We are going to build from that much, get better and be prepared to face Alabama.”
 
Alabama (1-0) enters Friday's home match riding the positive momentum of a 1-0 season-opening triumph over Kennesaw State on Aug. 17. It marked the third season in a row that the Crimson Tide has earned a win in its season opener.
 
Against Kennesaw State, a pair of newcomers lifted the Tide to victory on the new season. Freshman forward Katie Bourgeois scored early in the second half off a throw in by senior Meghan Duffy that was flicked on by senior Kaitlyn Smith and the tally would hold as the new look Alabama defense did the rest.
 
Bourgeois handled the throw in and from the top left side of the 18, the rookie found the back of the net in the 57th minute.
 
Junior transfer goalkeeper Shelby Church recorded the clean sheet in her first start in a Crimson Tide uniform. The newcomer tallied one save in the winning effort.
 
Alabama kept the pressure on Kennesaw State for most of the match as the Tide outshot the Owls, 19-4. Sophomore Pia Rijsdijk paced Alabama with four shots, putting one on frame. Alabama held Kennesaw State to just two shots in each half and sported a 12-2 advantage heading into the locker room at the intermission.
 
Samford and Alabama will square off on the pitch Friday for the fifth time in school history. The Crimson Tide currently holds a 3-1 advantage in the all-time series and has been victorious in each of the previous two meetings.
 
The in-state rivals met for the first time in 2008 as Alabama registered a slight 1-0 victory at home in Tuscaloosa. The next season, Samford cruised to a lopsided 3-0 triumph held at Bulldog Field in Birmingham. Since then, the Crimson Tide has tallied identical 2-1 wins in both 2010 and 2011.
 
“Traditionally, whenever we play Alabama it's usually a 1-0 or 2-1 type match, therefore it's always pretty tight and I don't foresee it being any different on Friday,” said Yelton. “I'm sure it will be a high-tempo match and both teams will come out playing to get a win.”
 
Last season, in the initial matchup between Samford and Alabama held at the brand-new Samford Track and Soccer Stadium, the Bulldogs scored a second-half goal and outshot the Crimson Tide in the final 45 minutes of play, but couldn't overcome an early 2-0 deficit at home in a 2-1 loss.
 
In the 2011 contest, Alabama's Laura Lee Smith tallied a pair of goals in the opening half, while the Bulldogs' Sarah Wilkinson notched her second-half score during the 53^rd minute.
 
Following Friday's in-state contest at Alabama, the Samford University soccer team will next be in action Aug. 31, at 7 p.m. (CDT) as the Bulldogs will conclude their arduous three-match, season-opening road stretch against the 25^th-ranked Auburn Tigers to be held at the Auburn Soccer Complex.