Box Score
Box Score

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- After allowing an early first-half goal to the Georgia State Panthers on Friday, the Samford University soccer team exploded for three scores in exactly three minutes and 32 seconds en route to a dominant 4-2 victory in a key non-conference contest held at the Samford Track and Soccer Stadium.
 
"It was really kind of a crazy game," said Samford head coach Todd Yelton. "I felt like we made one mistake in the first half and Georgia State punished us for it. When you get down 1-0, you start chasing the game and it can make it a bit hard on the team, but I liked the fact that our players stayed very composed and realized that it's a 90-minute game."
 
With the win, Samford (6-2) extended its winning streak to four-consecutive matches and remained a perfect 4-0 at home this season. The Bulldogs have been tough to beat in Birmingham this season and have already posted home triumphs against Tennessee, 1-0, Auburn, 1-0, Vanderbilt, 3-2, and Georgia State (1-5-1), 4-2.
 
Samford's four-goal performance Friday was its highest scoring output since the Bulldogs put up a similar four-spot at Kennesaw State on Sept. 2, 2011.
 
Additionally, Samford improved its all-time record against Georgia State to 6-0-1. Friday's match marked the first time that the former Atlantic Sun rivals squared off in the regular season since Sept. 21, 2002.
 
Nearly 12 minutes into Friday's match, Georgia State's Ashley Nagy capitalized on a perfectly-placed through-ball from sophomore midfielder Margaret Bruemmer to give the Panthers an early 1-0 lead. On the goal, Bruemmer's pass was placed neatly behind Samford's back line and Nagy took advantage of a one-v-one into the bottom left corner of the goal.
 
The score was Nagy's first of the 2013 campaign.
 
At 34:05 in the opening period, Samford's Hallie Georgi equalized the match at 1-1 with her second goal of the season. The Bulldogs' scoring play was set up beautifully by senior Trine Taule who fired a brilliant cross from right to left directly to Georgi's feet.
 
Immediately following the cross, Georgi, the Bulldogs' talented sophomore from Cicero, Ind., one-timed the ball nicely into the left corner of the net.
 
"I thought that Hallie and Amanda (Abbott) were both fantastic tonight," Yelton said. "If you look at the stat sheet, our starters and reserves basically had the same score lines, so anytime you can have someone come in as a reserve and give you an offensive boost, it's a huge thing. I also respect that group, because it takes tremendous character and mental toughness to be able to do that."
 
In the final 2:58 of the first half and the first 34 seconds of the second half, Samford scored an unprecedented three goals in three minutes and 32 seconds to give the Bulldogs a lightning-quick 4-2 lead. The total of 3:32 marked the shortest time in Samford history that three goals were scored.
 
The first strike occurred at exactly 42:02 in the match as senior midfielder Michelle Moll collected a give-and-go pass from Amanda Abbott and beat Georgia State goalkeeper Brie Haynes for her second goal of the season.
 
Then, just 36 seconds later, the Bulldogs were fouled in the box and awarded a penalty kick. Taule, Samford's native of Frekhaug, Norway, calmly scored on her second penalty kick of the 2013 campaign to give Samford a 3-1 advantage.
 
The Bulldogs' final score of its quick three-goal stretch occurred just 34 seconds into the second half. On the play, Moll procured an errant Georgia State pass deep in the Panthers' box and fired a shot towards the goal. Moll's shot attempt then deflected sharply off Haynes' hands and bounded across the goal line for Samford's fourth score of the match.
 
The unassisted goal was Moll's second of the night and her third of the 2013 season.
 
"When you score goals, it takes a lot of stress off the rest of the team," said Yelton. "We've won in a variety of ways this year, which is truly part of the process. If you look at our games against Tennessee and Auburn, we were able to earn 1-0 results, but then against Vanderbilt we won 3-2 and here we won 4-2 tonight. I really like the resiliency of this team and they show a great deal of character."
 
Samford outshot Georgia State, 24-9, Friday and boasted 11 more shot attempts than the Panthers in the second half, 16-5.
 
Georgia State's final goal of the match occurred in the 56^th minute and was tallied by Jordan Young to make the score 4-2. The goal was her team-high third of the season.
 
The Samford University soccer team will next be in action Sept. 27 at 7 p.m. (CDT), as the Bulldogs begin Southern Conference play at home against the defending SoCon Tournament champs, the Georgia Southern Eagles. Next week's contest will be held at the Samford Track and Soccer Stadium.
 
For the most up-to-date information on Samford soccer please follow @Samford_Sports and @SamfordSoccer on Twitter.

Box Score