Box Score
Box Score

BOONE, N.C. -- With Sunday's match knotted at 1-1 and just 1:38 remaining on the clock, Samford's Malcanisha Kelley scored the game-winning goal to lift the Bulldogs' soccer team to a thrilling 2-1 road triumph against the Appalachian State Mountaineers in a huge Southern Conference matchup held at the ASU Soccer Stadium.
 
With the win, Samford (10-3-1, 4-1-1 SoCon) completed its weekend road sweep and improved to 4-3 when playing away from home this season. On Friday, the Bulldogs will return to Birmingham, Ala., and the Samford Track and Soccer Stadium for a Senior Night contest against The Citadel. Samford owns a dominant 6-0-1 record at home this year.
 
Late in Sunday's showdown, the Bulldogs and Appalachian State (6-5-2, 3-1-2 SoCon) were deadlocked at 1-1.
 
The extremely physical, hard-fought battle was apparently heading to overtime before junior Amanda Abbott nearly tallied her second goal of the match with less than two minutes remaining.
 
Abbott, Samford's lightning-quick forward from Marietta, Ga., rifled a shot attempt on goal that bounded off the Mountaineers' goalkeeper Megan Roberson. The ball then bounced toward the middle of the 18-yard box where the Bulldogs' Kelley cleaned up the loose possession and fired the game-winning goal into the back of the net.
 
Kelley's score proved to be her fourth of the 2013 campaign, as well as her third game-winner. Abbott was awarded with an assist on the play, her second of the season.
 
Samford improved to 5-0-1 all-time against Appalachian State and registered its seventh one-goal victory of the year. Since Sept. 26, 2010, the Bulldogs have compiled an unbelievable 17-1-2 record against SoCon opponents on the road.
 
Appalachian State had its five-match undefeated streak snapped Sunday. Prior to losing to Samford, the Mountaineers opened conference play with back-to-back ties against UNCG, 1-1, and Elon, 3-3, before rattling off a trio of consecutive wins over Georgia Southern, 3-1, Davidson, 2-1, and Chattanooga, 5-0.
 
The Bulldogs took a quick 1-0 lead in Sunday's match when Abbott notched her team-high sixth goal of the 2013 campaign. At just 9:18 into the contest, Abbott took a perfectly-placed pass from Jordan Johnson and beat Roberson for the goal.
 
The assist was Johnson's fifth of the season as she leads the team in the category.
 
Just over seven minutes following Abbott's score, Appalachian State's Samantha Childress equalized the match at 1-1 with her eighth goal of the 2013 campaign. On her score, Childress was assisted by Jane Cline.
 
Following Childress' goal in the 17^th minute, neither team scored again until Kelley's game-winner in the 89^th frame.
 
There were a total of 26 fouls in Sunday's battle, with Appalachian State being whistled for 16 of the infractions. Samford outshot the Mountaineers, 12-8, and maintained a minor advantage in the corner kick comparison, 4-3.
 
The Samford University soccer team will next be in action Friday at 7 p.m. (CDT) as the Bulldogs return home to Birmingham, Ala., for a Senior Night matchup against The Citadel to be held at the Samford Track and Soccer Stadium.
 
For the most up-to-date information on Samford soccer please follow @Samford_Sports and @SamfordSoccer on Twitter.

Box Score