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BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - - The Samford University soccer team defeated its second straight Southeastern Conference opponent Friday as the Bulldogs ran past the Auburn Tigers, 1-0, in a historic victory held at the Samford Track and Soccer Stadium.
 
The Bulldogs' Malcanisha Kelley scored the game-winning goal in the 52^nd minute of play as Samford (2-1) defeated Auburn (0-2-1) for the first time in school history. Kelley, the Bulldogs' dynamic true freshman from Childersburg, also scored the game-winning goal in Sunday's 1-0 home triumph over Tennessee.

 
"Mac (Malcanisha) is from Childersburg, Ala., and that is directly between Auburn and Birmingham, so I'm certain there are a lot of people in her hometown that are huge Auburn fans," said Samford head coach Todd Yelton. "This was a fantastic game for her and the thing about Mac is that she's as good of a person as she is a soccer player. When she decided to be a Bulldog, we not only got an outstanding player, but an outstanding person. We're certainly glad that she decided to come to Samford and she's already scored two huge goals for us this season."
 
Samford's string of back-to-back victories over SEC opponents is also a school record. With the Bulldogs' shutout win against Auburn, Samford defeated the Tigers for the first time in eight chances. In 2009, the teams played to a dramatic 0-0 season-opening draw held at Bulldog Field.
 
"We really appreciate the awesome fan support that we received tonight," said Yelton. "We have great fans and it was an outstanding atmosphere tonight. Auburn is a quality team and I certainly don't think that Karen (Hoppa) gets enough respect for being one of the best coaches in the country. If you look at what's she's done over the last 10 years at Auburn. It's pretty impressive.
 
"We're thankful for the win, but we don't ultimately want this to be what defines our season. We want to continue to get better and to continue to battle. We have another tough match coming up on Friday when we play at Texas."
 
Samford snapped a three-match losing streak against Auburn and knocked off its fifth SEC opponent in school history. The Bulldogs' list of conquests also includes Alabama, Kentucky, Mississippi State and Tennessee. Although Samford has never defeated Vanderbilt, the Bulldogs advanced past the Commodores via penalty kicks in the 2005 NCAA Tournament.
 
"I used to think about it a lot more than I do now," Yelton said about beating SEC opponents. "What we ask of our players is to come out and give us a great effort, no matter who we're playing. Obviously, there's a little more to a rivalry, such as this, especially because Auburn's had our number for so long. It's a fun night for our players, but it's a fantastic night for our university, because you're fooling yourself if you don't think this part of the country always measures itself against the SEC."

 
Auburn outshot Samford, 13-10, Friday, but true freshman goalkeeper Katie Peters once again turned in an outstanding job in goal for the Bulldogs.
 
Peters, who is College Sports Madness' reigning Southern Conference Player of the Week, registered five match-saving goals and tallied the second shutout of her young collegiate career. Her best stop of the night occurred in the 74^th minute as she made a lunging save off a point-blank header from Auburn's Maddie Barnes, which left the Tigers' midfielder stunned in disbelief.
 
The Bulldogs' game-winning goal occurred at exactly 51:02 in the second half.
 
On the scoring play, Samford's Trine Taule stole an errant Auburn pass and sent the ball up ahead to Kelley at midfield. During the pass, Kelley shielded the Tiger defender from the ball and run under Taule's assist on the left flank. She then outran one Auburn back and shifted past the final defender with a smooth crossover move 35 yards out.
 
After gaining an edge on the last Tiger defender, Kelley rifled a shot from 25 yards out that snaked its way into the left-hand corner of the net. The score was Kelley's second of the fledgling 2013 campaign.
 
Samford was outshot, 9-1, in the opening half, but turned the tables in the second frame and posted a 9-4 disparity over the Tigers. The Bulldogs' defense once again played solid behind the play of freshman Molly Pittman, junior Katie Danehy, junior Lindsey Hansen, sophomore Alissa Hansen and senior Jordan Johnson.
 
"If you look over our last several matches, we've just gotten better and better in the back," said Yelton. "We have some good flexibility back there and we can really utilize that by subbing some players in. The whole group has been fantastic, especially Molly and Katie, and they set a very high standard back there. That group has played very well in front of Katie (Peters) and Katie has made the big save whenever she's had to."
 
The Samford University soccer team will next be in action Sept. 6 at 7 p.m. (CDT) as the Bulldogs begin a two-match road trip against the Texas Longhorns in a pivotal non-conference contest to be held at Mike A. Myers Stadium (20,000) in Austin, Texas. Then, on Sept. 8, Samford will conclude its four-day, two-match road swing against UTSA in San Antonio, Texas.
 
For the most up-to-date information on Samford Athletics please follow @Samford_Sports and @SamfordSoccer on Twitter.

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