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BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- The Samford University soccer team will begin its quest for the 2013 Southern Conference Tournament title Sunday at 4 p.m. (CST) as the Bulldogs welcome the Appalachian State Mountaineers to the Samford Track and Soccer Stadium for a marquee opening-round contest.
 
"Appalachian State is a very good team and this match is going to tough for us," said Samford head coach Todd Yelton. "Sarah Strickland (Appalachian State head coach) does an outstanding job with her squad and her players all have a great spirit and great fight to them. She's an excellent coach, so it's going to be a really good match and a challenging test for us."
 
Samford (12-5-2, 5-3-2 SoCon) heads into the eight-team SoCon Tournament as the No. 4 seed after defeating Chattanooga, 7-1, on Wednesday. The Bulldogs own a stellar 8-1-1 home record this season and have not been defeated in Birmingham since Oct. 18.
 
In last season's SoCon Tournament, the No. 2-seed Samford was upended by the seventh-seeded College of Charleston Cougars, 2-1, in the opening round of play held at the Samford Track and Soccer Stadium. The Bulldogs concluded their 2012 campaign with an 11-7-2 overall record.
 
Samford enters Sunday's match riding the positive momentum of a dominant Southern Rail Rivalry victory over travel partner Chattanooga.
 
In Wednesday's lopsided win, the Bulldogs received two goals apiece from true freshman Malcanisha Kelley and senior Trine Taule, while Michelle Moll kicked off the scoring with her lone score of the night in the ninth minute. Samford also received goals from true freshmen Sara Smeltzer and Olivia Cole. Their scores were each the first of their young collegiate careers.
 
Also in its 7-1 victory over Chattanooga, Samford registered seven goals in a match for the first time since Oct. 3, 2010, when the Bulldogs defeated The Citadel, 7-0.
 
For her efforts Wednesday, Samford's Kelley was named the SoCon Player of the Week. She scored a pair of goals and added an assist, while notching her fourth game-winning goal of the season. The Bulldogs' native of Childersburg, also assisted on Taule's score in the 49th minute and added her second goal of the game in the 56th minute as Samford won emphatically.
 
With five points in just 32 minutes of playing time on the night, Kelley assumed the team scoring lead with 19 points on the year. She finished the regular season with eight goals and three assists.
 
Appalachian State (8-6-4, 4-2-4 SoCon) enters Sunday's showdown as the No. 5 seed in the eight-team tournament. The Mountaineers have been victorious in two of their last three matches, but are coming off a disappointing 1-0 loss to arch-rival Western Carolina on Wednesday.
 
On Oct. 25, Appalachian State turned in one of its best performances of the 2013 campaign as the Mountaineers throttled The Citadel, 9-3. In road matches this season, Appalachian State owns a solid 4-3-1 record, including a near-perfect 3-1-1 mark in SoCon play.
 
Offensively, the Mountaineers have been paced this season by sophomore forward Samantha Childress. Appalachian State's speedy native of Kernersville, N.C., has already scored 10 goals in 2013. Junior forward Julia Holz has also played a key role in the Mountaineers' success by posting a team-high six assists.
 
In goal, sophomore Megan Roberson has anchored Appalachian State's defense with a stellar 1.31 goals-against average. The Mountaineers' native of Kernersville, N.C., has tallied 59 saves and registered three solo shutouts.
 
Samford owns a 5-0-1 all-time record against Appalachian State and defeated the Mountaineers, 2-1, on Oct. 13. In the Bulldogs' road victory earlier this season, the match was knotted at 1-1 and there was just 1:38 remaining on the clock when Samford's Kelley scored the game-winning goal.
 
Kelley's goal was set up by junior forward Amanda Abbott, who rifled a shot attempt that caromed strongly off Roberson. The ball then bounced toward the middle of the 18-yard box where Kelley cleaned up the loose possession and fired the game-winning goal into the back of the net.
 
"The first match was very tough and we were fortunate to get the win at their place," Yelton said. "It was a match of two halves. They were certainly the better team in the first half, but then we were the better team in the second half, so these are two very equal teams. Sunday's match will most likely come down to which team is better at finishing and ultimately keeping the ball out of the back of the net."
 
Yelton is Samford's all-time winningest coach with 147 victories as a Bulldog. Since taking the reins to the program in 2002, Yelton has led his team to five regular-season conference titles, three NCAA Tournament appearances and a pair of conference tournament championships.
 
Senior Shanika Thomas has started in 76-straight matches for the Bulldogs, dating all the way back to Sept. 17, 2010. Throughout her illustrious four-year career, she has only missed one match and has started in 82 of the team's last 83 contests.
 
The winner of Sunday's contest will advance to the semifinal round of the 2013 SoCon Tournament, which will take place at Wofford's Snyder Field in Spartanburg, S.C., on Nov. 8. The title match will be held Nov. 10 at Noon (CST) at Snyder Field and will be broadcast live on ESPN3.

Live Stats
FREE Live Video
Samford Media Guide
SoCon Tournament Bracket
SoCon Release - Championship Edition