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BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- The Samford University soccer team will play its final home match of the 2013 regular season Wednesday at 7 p.m. (CDT) as the Bulldogs square off against the Chattanooga Mocs in a Southern Conference finale to be held at the Samford Track and Soccer Stadium.
Samford (11-5-2, 4-3-2 SoCon) heads into the match boasting a near-perfect 7-1-1 record at home this year. The Bulldogs' lone loss of the season occurred Oct. 18, against The Citadel, 3-2. Since then, Samford has defeated Francis Marion, 2-1, played to a draw at Elon, 1-1, and lost to UNCG, 3-0.
Despite sitting in sixth place in the current conference standings, the Bulldogs still have a chance to finish fourth in the league and earn the right to host a first-round SoCon Tournament match. With a win against
Chattanooga (5-12, 0-9 SoCon), accompanied with either ties or losses from both Wofford and Appalachian State, Samford would finish as the fourth-place team in the SoCon standings.
The top four teams in the final league standings will host a first-round SoCon Tournament contest.
Chattanooga is in the midst of a three-match losing streak and a 12-game slide against SoCon opponents. The Mocs' last SoCon win occurred Oct. 14, 2012, versus The Citadel. Chattanooga's victories this season have come against Tennessee Temple, 5-0, UNC Asheville, 2-1, South Carolina State, 5-1, Tennessee Tech, 2-1, and Francis Marion, 3-2.
The Mocs' offensive attack has been paced by the trio of Crystal Mackezyk, Clare Latham and Monica Speth this year. All three of the aforementioned players have scored five goals in 2013, while Mackezyk has also added a team-high seven assists for 17 points.
Chattanooga goalkeepers Taylor Mangrum and Lauren Thomas each played a half in the Mocs' 5-0 loss at UNCG on Sunday. Mangrum, who has allowed 35 goals in 15 matches this season, gave up three scores against the Spartans, while Thomas allowed a pair of goals in the second half. Thomas enters Wednesday's contest with a 3.31 goals-against average this season.
Samford has scored 29 goals this year and has only allowed a total of 21. Junior
Amanda Abbott currently leads the Bulldogs with seven goals scored, while true freshman
Malcanisha Kelley follows with six. Seniors
Trine Taule and
Michelle Moll have tallied five and four goals, respectively this season, while freshman
Taylor Borman has found the back of the net three times.
Junior goalkeeper
Melissa Montgomery is coming off a solid performance in goal for the Bulldogs
The Bulldogs hold a 6-1 advantage in their all-time series against Chattanooga, and are in the midst of a five-match winning streak dating all the way back to Sept. 21, 1999. Since then, Samford has outscored Chattanooga, 15-4, in the last five meetings. The Bulldogs have never lost to the Mocs in Birmingham and own a 3-0 series record at home.
In last season's meeting between the teams, Samford cruised to a 3-0 road victory at Chattanooga.
In the 2012 triumph, the Bulldogs outshot the Mocs, 26-3, and posted a lopsided 12-0 advantage in corner kicks. Samford's goals were scored by Taule, Moll and
Lindsey Hansen, while Montgomery teamed with former Bulldog
Jessica Perry to record the shutout.
Following Wednesday's regular-season finale against Chattanooga, the Samford University soccer team will next be in action Sunday as the Bulldogs begin play in the 2013 SoCon Tournament. Samford's opponent, as well as the location of the match, will not be determined until late Wednesday night.
For the most up-to-date information on Samford soccer please follow
@Samford_Sports and
@SamfordSoccer on Twitter.
Live Stats
FREE Live Video
Samford Media Guide
Updated SoCon Standings
