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SPARTANBURG, S.C. -- Just two wins shy of earning a trip to the NCAA Tournament for a fourth time in nine seasons, the fourth-seeded Samford University soccer team will square off against the top-seeded Furman Paladins at 4 p.m. (CST) in the semifinal round of play at the 2013 Southern Conference Tournament being hosted by Wofford at Snyder Field.
 
Samford (13-5-2) heads into Friday's contest riding a wave of positive momentum after earning back-to-back victories against Chattanooga, 7-1, and Appalachian State, 1-0.
 
In the Bulldogs' opening-round SoCon Tournament win over Appalachian State, Samford's hard-nosed defense only allowed a total of two shot attempts in 90 minutes and went the final 80:39 of the match without allowing a single shot.
 
Despite three or four really good scoring opportunities in the opening 45 minutes of play, the Bulldogs' lone goal of the match actually occurred on an Appalachian State own goal.
 
On the game-winning score, Samford's Diana Getzewich contested a key 50-50 ball near the midfield circle and the ball was sent up ahead to Hallie Georgi, who was streaking towards the goal from the right flank. On its way towards Georgi, the ball was inadvertently deflected by Mountaineer defender Nicole Steyl and caromed into the left side of the net.
 
The Bulldogs' decisive goal was scored just 10 seconds before halftime.
 
On Sunday, Samford outshot Appalachian State, 13-2, with five of its attempts being on-goal. The Bulldogs also dominated the stat sheet in corner kicks, 6-1.
 
Furman (15-3-2) entered the postseason as the top-seeded team in the SoCon Tournament and earned a berth in the semifinals with a 2-0 victory over Western Carolina on Sunday. The Paladins' sophomore All-SoCon choice Stephanie DeVita netted a pair of first half goals, her 13th and 14th of the season, to propel Furman to its fourth-consecutive win. 
 
Since playing to a 0-0 draw with Appalachian State on Oct. 20, Furman has rattled off victories against Georgia Southern, 2-0, Davidson, 3-1, Wofford, 2-0, and Western Carolina, 2-0.
 
The Paladins capped their home schedule with a perfect 9-0 record and improved to 21-1-2 in their last 24 home contests. Furman has outscored their opponents by a total of 50-13 this season, including a 10-1 advantage since Oct. 18.
 
Earlier this season, in Samford's regular-season meeting with Furman, the Bulldogs dropped a 2-1 decision on the road in Greenville, S.C. The loss snapped Samford's 17-match conference road undefeated streak, which dated all the way back to Sept. 26, 2010.
 
The Bulldogs' loss marked the first time in school history that Furman defeated Samford. Heading into the highly-anticipated showdown, the Bulldogs held a 5-0-1 advantage in the all-time series.
 
In the Oct. 6 matchup, neither team scored a goal in the first half of play as Samford outshot the Paladins, 7-4, in the opening 45 minutes of action.
 
Furman's Carlie Couch opened the scoring in the 46^th minute by tallying her fourth goal of the season. Couch gave the Paladins a 1-0 lead by gathering a through-pass from DeVita and placing a breakaway shot into the left corner of the net. DeVita was awarded with an assist on the play.
 
Following Couch's goal, Samford immediately answered with a score of its own as true freshman Malcanisha Kelley notched an unassisted goal from 16 yards out. The score was Kelley's third of the season and equalized the match at 1-1 in the 51^st minute.
 
The game-winning goal occurred at exactly 66:41 and came off the foot of Furman senior midfielder Dee Makris. Makris, a native of Vestavia Hills, Ala., doomed her hometown team as she registered the decisive score in the 67^th minute of play.
 
Makris' game-winner came off a crossing pass that was touched into position by DeVita. The Paladins' Kristen Baker was also credited with an assist on the goal.
 
Samford outshot Furman, 11-10, in the first match and won the corner kick battle, 5-4. Both goalkeepers; the Bulldogs' Melissa Montgomery and the Paladins' Rose Hull finished with three saves apiece.
 
All-time, Samford owns a 4-3-4 record in SoCon Tournament play. In just six seasons as members of the SoCon, the Bulldogs have advanced to the semifinal round four times, the championship match twice and earned the SoCon Tournament title in 2011.
 
Samford and Furman have only met once in SoCon Tournament history. On Nov. 4, 2011, the Bulldogs defeated the Paladins, 1-0, in double overtime as former Samford standout Sarah Wilkinson scored the golden goal in the 109^th minute to lift the Bulldogs to a 1-0 victory in the semifinal round of the SoCon Tournament.
 
Samford went on to win the 2011 SoCon Tournament championship by defeating College of Charleston, 1-0, on Nov. 6.
 
The winner of Friday's SoCon semifinal showdown will advance to Sunday's championship match and will face either No. 3-seed Elon or No. 6-seed Wofford. The SoCon championship contest will be held at noon (CST) and will be broadcast live on ESPN3. The winner of the SoCon Tournament will earn an automatic berth in the 2013 NCAA Tournament.

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