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KENNESAW, Ga. -- The Samford University soccer team will play its final road match of September Tuesday at 6 p.m. (CDT) as the Bulldogs travel to Georgia for an important early-season contest versus the Kennesaw State Owls to be held at Fifth-Third Bank Stadium (8,300).
 
Samford (4-2) heads into the contest with a full head of steam after earning a thrilling 3-2 double-overtime victory against Vanderbilt on Friday. With the victory, the Bulldogs earned their first win against Vanderbilt and improved to a perfect 3-0 against the Southeastern Conference this season. Earlier this fall, the Bulldogs registered back-to-back 1-0 shutout wins over Tennessee and Auburn.
 
Already this season, Samford has defeated SEC powerhouses Tennessee, Auburn and Vanderbilt. Last year, the only two teams to accomplish that feat were perennial NCAA Tournament teams Florida and Kentucky. Florida advanced to the Sweet 16 of the 2012 NCAA Tournament, while Kentucky advanced to the Round of 32.
 
Samford has now won four-consecutive matches against SEC opponents. Last season, the Bulldogs posted a 3-1 triumph over Kentucky in the championship game of the 2012 Louisville Classic.
 
On Friday, Samford's Michelle Moll scored the game-winning goal in the eighth minute of the final overtime period. The golden goal proved to be her first of the season and occurred off a free kick from the left side just outside of the box.
 
On the score, Moll fired a low line drive deep into the Commodores back line. The ball nicked a defender and neatly found the left corner of the goal. Samford's victory Friday was played in front of a season-high 1,180 raucous fans. Senior Trine Taule also added two huge goals for the Bulldogs against Vanderbilt.
 
Kennesaw State (2-4) enters Tuesday's contest with hopes of bouncing back from a hard-fought 2-1 home loss to Ole Miss on Friday. In the Owls' heartbreaking defeat, they jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the 57th minute as freshman forward Shannon Driscoll was taken down inside the 18-yard box to earn Kennesaw State's first penalty kick of the season.
 
Freshman midfielder Suzanne Arafa then found the back of the net on the penalty kick and scored her first career goal.

The Owls' lead did not last long Friday. Just a minute later, Ole Miss' Olivia Harrison evened the match at 1-1 as she dribbled through Kennesaw State's defense inside the box before slotting the ball into the right bottom corner of the goal.
 
The Rebels then scored the go-ahead goal in the 70th minute on a controversial call during an Ole Miss free kick in the Kennesaw State 18-yard box that resulted in a penalty kick for the Rebels. Mandy McCalla buried the ball into the right side to give Ole Miss the 2-1 win.
 
Kennesaw State has already faced a brutal schedule this season. The Owls opened their 2013 campaign with a 1-0 victory against Tennessee Tech, but then dropped consecutive battles with Oklahoma, 2-0, No. 12-ranked Duke, 1-0, No. 1 North Carolina, 3-0, and Ole Miss, 2-1.
 
On Sept. 6, Kennesaw State played at Georgia State and earned a 1-0 road win.
 
Samford owns a 3-1 all-time record against the Owls. Last season, the Bulldogs played host to Kennesaw State on Sept. 14 and suffered its first home defeat in over a year, 2-1.
 
Prior to the 2012 setback, Samford's previous home loss was 4-2 defeat versus Auburn on Sept. 9, 2011. The Bulldogs currently own a 14-7-3 record when playing at the three-year-old Samford Track and Soccer Stadium.
 
Last season, Kennesaw State scored both of its goals in the first 21 minutes of play. The Owls' dynamic goal-scorer Danielle Gray notched her fifth goal of the season in the fourth minute before Jewelia Strickland bounced home a 45-yard free kick at 20:49.
 
Strickland's high, one-hopping goal was her first score of the 2012 season.
 
At halftime, Samford was outshooting Kennesaw State, 7-4, but trailed in the match 2-0. The Bulldogs were getting a number of viable scoring opportunities, just not finding the back of the net. Samford's Brittany Hoffman rattled off five shot attempts in the opening 45 minutes of play, while Michelle Moll and Joy Grove each attempted one shot apiece.
 
In the second half of play, Samford increased its offensive pressure on Kennesaw State and added 18 more shot attempts.
 
The Owls' goalkeeper Melissa Hutto registered nine key saves in the second half alone and finished the contest with 10 stops. Kennesaw State's wily senior from Pensacola, Fla., made a number of diving, goal-saving stops, and the Bulldogs also hit either the crossbar or the post five times.
 
Midway through the second half, Samford's Amanda Abbott tallied her first goal of the season as she trimmed Kennesaw State's lead to 2-1 in the 74^th minute of action. On Abbott's score, Grove dribbled her way past a pair of Owl defenders at the top of the box and slipped forward a pass perfectly to Abbott on the left flank. Abbott took a couple of touches and then fired the shot far post for the goal.
 
Following Abbott's goal, Samford's offensive attack was further emboldened and play was consistently forced to Kennesaw State's half of the field. The Bulldogs continued to blast shot after shot late in the half, but the Owls were able to thwart Samford's efforts.
 
The Bulldogs outnumbered Kennesaw State, 8-1, in corner kicks and outshot the Owls 25-6.
 
Following Tuesday's road test at Kennesaw State, the Samford University soccer team will next be in action Friday at 7 p.m. (CDT) as the Bulldogs begin a critical four-match homestand against the Georgia State Panthers to be held at the Samford Track and Soccer Stadium. Admission is FREE to the match and football tickets for Saturday's home-opener against Southeastern Louisiana will be sold for $5.
 
For the most up-to-date information on Samford Athletics please follow @Samford_Sports and @SamfordSoccer on Twitter.

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