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SoCon NotesBIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- The Samford University soccer team will begin play in its highly-anticipated 2014 regular-season schedule Friday at 7 p.m. (CDT) as the Bulldogs welcome the Cincinnati Bearcats to the Samford Track and Soccer Stadium for a marquee, early-season, non-conference showdown.
Samford (0-0) jumpstarted its 2014 campaign in impressive fashion last week as the Bulldogs streaked to an early 3-0 lead against the Ole Miss Rebels and coasted to a final 3-2 decision in an exhibition contest held here in Birmingham.
In its decisive win, Samford received goals from
Amanda Abbott,
Anna Allen and
Malcanisha Kelley. Not including last week's victory, the Bulldogs own a four-match winning streak against Southeastern Conference opponents. Last season, Samford swept home contests with Tennessee, 1-0, Auburn, 1-0, and Vanderbilt, 3-2.
Against Ole Miss, Kelley, the Bulldogs' explosive First-Team All-Southern Conference performer from Childersburg, tallied Samford's first goal of the match in the 41
st minute. On the score, Kelley was assisted by University of Tampa transfer
Emily Jones.
Just two minutes later, the Bulldogs extended their lead to 2-0 as Abbott pushed home a deflected shot off the foot of Ole Miss transfer,
Heather Lacy. On Abbott's goal, both Lacy and Kelley were awarded with assists.
Samford's third-and-final goal was scored in the 63
rd minute of action to extend the Bulldogs' advantage to 3-0. Allen, Samford's talented sophomore from Vestavia Hills, registered the goal as she fired home a brilliant crossing pass from fellow-sophomore
Taylor Borman.
Cincinnati (0-0) heads into the 2014 campaign with high expectations under the tutelage of second-year head coach Neil Stafford. The Bearcats are coming off an 8-11-1 season in which they earned a 4-4-1 record in American Athletic Conference play.
Cincinnati's 2013 campaign marked just the fourth time in the last 10 years that the Bearcats tallied eight or more wins in a season. It also proved to be only the second time to achieve four or more league wins.
Heading into Friday's season opener, Cincinnati returns eight starters from last year's squad. Those starters include the top three scorers in Jae Atkinson, Katy Couperus and Emily Elsbrock, who was named Second-Team All-AAC. Another returner of note is starting goalkeeper Natalie Smith, who was on the league's All-Rookie Team with Couperus.
Last week, the Bearcats played host to Valparaiso in an exhibition match and registered a 4-1 victory. Cincinnati scored three goals in the first 25 minutes of play to put the contest out of reach.
Friday's match will mark the first meeting between Samford and Cincinnati. The Bulldogs own a 9-7-1 all-time record in season-opening contests and are 3-7 against current members of the AAC. Samford owns a 3-3 record against Memphis and an 0-4 mark versus UCF. Cincinnati was predicted to finish sixth in the AAC preseason poll by the league's 10 head coaches.
Samford also heads into the 2014 campaign with high expectations after finishing last season with a stellar 13-6-2 overall record. The Bulldogs also tallied a 5-3-2 record in SoCon play and compiled a near-perfect 9-1-1 record when playing at home at the Samford Track and Soccer Stadium.
Last week, the Bulldogs were predicted to finish second in the talent-laden, 10-team SoCon. As Samford heads into its seventh year as a member of the SoCon, the Bulldogs have been predicted to finish fourth or better in each of its seven seasons. In previous years, Samford was tabbed to finish fourth in 2008, third in 2009, second in 2010, 2011 and 2013, as well as first prior to the 2012 campaign.
The SoCon also released its 2014 preseason team last week, which was highlighted by Samford's Kelley.
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