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BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- The Samford University soccer team registered a lopsided 7-1 Southern Conference victory against the Chattanooga Mocs Wednesday in the teams' regular-season finale held at the Samford Track and Soccer Stadium.
 
"It was great to close out the regular season with a bit of confidence by finding the back of the net," said Samford head coach Todd Yelton. "There have definitely been some times this year when that hadn't been the case, so hopefully this win will give us some confidence and positive momentum heading into the SoCon Tournament."
 
In its demonstrative win, Samford (12-5-2, 5-3-2 SoCon) received two goals apiece from Malcanisha Kelley and Trine Taule, while senior Michelle Moll kicked off the scoring with her lone score of the night in the ninth minute. The Bulldogs also received goals from true freshmen Sara Smeltzer and Olivia Cole. Their scores were each the first of their young collegiate careers.
 
Also in the victory, Samford registered seven goals in a match for the first time since Oct. 3, 2010, when the Bulldogs defeated The Citadel, 7-0.
 
Samford secured the No. 4 seed in the upcoming SoCon Tournament as Appalachian State and Wofford both lost on the road Wednesday. Appalachian State fell to Western Carolina, 1-0, while Wofford was defeated on the road at Furman, 2-0. The Bulldogs finished the regular season with 17 points, just one ahead of both Appalachian State and Wofford.
 
"It's great to be able to host a first-round tournament match, but obviously we needed a bit of help tonight," Yelton said. "It was a crazy night. I think heading into the matches, there were four or five different scenarios that could have happened. We put ourselves in that spot where we had to rely on some other results, but we're thankful that it worked out the way that it did."
 
An Oct. 20 draw at Furman handed Appalachian State the tiebreaker win over Wofford, therefore the Mountaineers finished the 2013 campaign as the No. 5 seed and will play at Samford on Sunday at 4 p.m. (CST). Earlier this season, the Bulldogs earned a thrilling 2-1 road victory at Appalachian State.
 
"Appalachian State is a very good team and they will be a huge test for us Sunday," said Yelton. "Even with all of our injuries this season, our players have never lost the fight and the desire to win. I think we're starting to get a little bit of flow to our play as well now and we just need to keep battling and getting better and better, because from now on if you lose, you go home."
 
With its 7-1 loss Wednesday, Chattanooga (5-13, 0-10 SoCon) completed conference play with an 0-10 record. The Mocs also dropped to 1-7 all-time against Samford as the Bulldogs extended their winning streak in the series to six-consecutive matches, dating back to Sept. 21, 1999.
 
Moll, Samford's two-time All-SoCon performer, tallied the first goal of Wednesday's match in the ninth minute of action. Her score was assisted by fellow senior Jordan Johnson, who finished the contest with two helpers and increased her team-leading total this season to seven assists.
 
The Bulldogs' Kelley, who has a great argument to be named the SoCon Freshman of the Year next week, scored her seventh and eighth goals of the season Wednesday. Her first was assisted by Diana Getzewich, while in the fourth minute of the second half, Kelley faked out a pair of Chattanooga defenders and rifled a shot into the right corner of the goal for an unassisted score.
 
Samford recorded the final five goals Wednesday, including a pair from Taule, who notched her sixth and seventh of the season just 2:42 apart early in the second half. With the goals, Taule has now scored 23 in her career and moved into a tie for third place on the Bulldogs' all-time scoring list.
 
"I thought that Trine got off to a bit of a rocky start tonight, but she really did a tremendous job of bouncing back," Yelton said. "It was huge for us to get us on the board right off the bat in the second half and that pretty much put the match out of reach. I thought that showed a great deal of character. Our seniors have all been great this season and they are setting an awesome example for all of our younger players. They've all had outstanding careers and they don't want it to end any time soon."
 
Samford's Melissa Montgomery earned Wednesday's start in goal and played a majority of the contest. She tallied the win for the Bulldogs and moved to 5-2-2 this season. True freshman Dale Steinagle came in at the end of the first half and logged just under 10 minutes of playing time, while registering a pair of key saves.
 
Statistically, Samford outshot Chattanooga, 25-11, and won the corner-kick battle, 9-0. Fouls were even at 7-7.
 
The Samford University soccer team will next be in action Sunday at 4 p.m. (CST) as the Bulldogs begin play in the 2013 SoCon Tournament at home against the Appalachian State Mountaineers. The contest will be held at the Samford Track and Soccer Stadium and the winner will advance to next week's semifinal round of the SoCon Tournament, which will be held at Wofford College in Spartanburg, S.C.
 
For the most up-to-date information on Samford soccer please follow @Samford_Sports and @SamfordSoccer on Twitter.

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