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MEMPHIS, Tenn. -- The Samford University soccer team will begin play in its highly-anticipated 2013 campaign Friday at 7 p.m. (CDT) as the Bulldogs meet the Memphis Tigers in a season-opening contest to be held at the Mike Rose Soccer Complex (3,000).
 
"It's always difficult when you open the season on the road, and we know that Memphis is going to be a tough, quality opponent," said Samford head coach Todd Yelton. "Brooks (Monaghan) has done a fantastic job as the head coach at Memphis and we know that tomorrow night's match is going to be a big challenge for us."
 
On Sunday, Samford (0-0) opened competitive play in its 2013 season at Belmont and used a penalty-kick goal from Molly Pittman in the 48^th minute of play to earn a key 1-0 exhibition victory in a preseason contest held at E.S. Rose Park.
 
Samford scored the lone goal of the match in the 48^th minute as Pittman rifled home a penalty-kick attempt. The Bulldogs were awarded the penalty kick after the Bruins committed a foul in the box. Just a freshman, Pittman scored a goal in her first action of the 2013 preseason.
 
Samford received a pair of stellar performances in goal from true freshman Katie Peters and junior Melissa Montgomery. Peters earned the start and tallied three saves in nearly 81 minutes of playing time. Montgomery came on in the 81^st minute and registered a save in the final 9:04 to play.
 
The Bulldogs outshot Belmont, 11-5, and totaled eight corner kicks, as compared to two from the Bruins. Offensively, Samford was paced by three shots from true freshman Taylor Borman.
 
"We have a lot of young players on our roster and they are going to get some good playing time against Memphis," Yelton said. "We just hope that they can continue to progress as the season goes on and we also hope that the players that have been in our system for a few years will be good examples for our young players. As we open the season, we just hope that our players will all continue to get better."
 
Memphis (0-0) heads into its 2013 season opener Friday with hopes of bouncing back from a 4-1 exhibition loss at Auburn on Saturday.
 
In its second preseason contest of the season, Memphis junior midfielder Kylie Davis helped get the attack started first as she put a shot on frame, but Auburn goalkeeper Alyse Scott stopped the attempt. Auburn's first shot resulted in a goal as Haley Gerken scored in the first half. Maddie Barnes served the ball to Gerken to help Auburn stake to the 1-0 advantage.
 
After scoring two goals in Memphis' exhibition opener against Arkansas State, Nugene Nugent had a chance for the third. Nugent fired a shot just after the Auburn goal, but Scott stopped it for her second save. Auburn then made it 2-0 in the 29th minute with a goal by Cassie Ramsier. Kala Faulkner fired a shot toward goalkeeper Christa Stirckland, but Strickland couldn't corral it before Ramsier put away the rebound for the goal.
 
Auburn doubled its lead within the first 15 minutes of the second half to take a 4-0 lead. Just over a minute into the half, Ramsier served a cross into the box and Gerken finished it for her second score of the game. In the 58th minute, Chelsea Gandy-Cromer had a breakaway down the middle of the field and she finished the chance to the back right corner of the goal.
 
Sophomore transfer Honeye Heydari moved Memphis in the scoring column with a goal in the 70th minute. Christabel Oduro passed the ball to Heydari in the middle of the field and Heydari fired a shot from 15-yards away to the back of the net for the goal.
 
Memphis and Auburn each tallied 13 shots in Saturday's match, but Auburn held a 7-6 advantage in shots on goal. Strickland played 58 minutes in goal and she surrendered four goals while coming up with three saves. Freshman Maryse Bard-Martel played the final 31 minutes, but didn't face a shot.
 
"Memphis is an extremely tough team to face, because their roster includes a large portion of the Canadian National team," said Yelton. "Brooks has done a great job of recruiting high-level players and I hope that our team will be up to the task tomorrow night."
 
Samford heads into the 2013 campaign with high expectations after finishing last season's Southern Conference play with a stellar 8-1-2 record and as the second-place team in the league's final standings. The Bulldogs overcame an extremely difficult nonconference schedule and opened its SoCon slate with a stellar 6-0-2 record. Samford completed the 2012 campaign with an 11-7-2 overall record.
 
Last week, the Bulldogs were predicted by the SoCon's head coaches to finish second in the talent-laden, 11-team league. Furman barely edged Samford in the listing by a single point, 94-93, for the top position.
 
As Samford begins its sixth year as a member of the SoCon, the Bulldogs have been predicted to finish fourth or better in each of its six seasons. In previous years, Samford was tabbed to finish fourth in 2008, third in 2009, second in both 2010 and 2011, and first prior to the 2012 campaign.
 
The 2013 version of the Bulldogs boasts six returning starters from last season, as well as an additional nine returning letterwinners from its talented 2012 squad.
 
Samford owns a 3-2 all-time record against Memphis, but has not defeated the Tigers since Sept. 8, 2007, when the Bulldogs posted a 1-0 shutout victory at home. Samford opened the all-time series with three straight wins, but has subsequently dropped back-to-back matches to Memphis in 2010, 3-0, and 2011, 2-0.
 
"We all measure ourselves by how we square up against the tough teams on our schedule," Yelton said. "If we were fortunate enough to get a good result tomorrow night, it would be huge for us, because we really have a tough stretch of matches coming up. Memphis has a great tradition as a soccer program and we know that they are going to be a very difficult opponent to face."
 
Following Friday's season-opening contest at Memphis, the Samford University soccer team will next be in action Sunday at 6 p.m. (CDT) as the Bulldogs welcome the Tennessee Lady Vols to Birmingham, Ala., for a key early-season matchup to be held at the Samford Track and Soccer Stadium.
 
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