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Live StatsCULLOWHEE, N.C. -- Fresh off its Southern Conference championship-clinching victory at ETSU on Friday, the undefeated Samford University soccer team will continue its historic, record-breaking campaign Sunday at 1 p.m. (CDT) as the Bulldogs close out their regular-season schedule against the Western Carolina Catamounts.
Samford (13-4, 8-0 SoCon) rolls into Sunday's contest with a full head of steam after winning in dramatic fashion at ETSU on Friday. With only 3:30 remaining in the showdown, the Bulldogs'
Malcanisha Kelley headed home a cross from junior
Taylor Borman to earn the thrilling 1-0 road victory held at Summers-Taylor Stadium.
Not only did Kelley's goal move her into a tie for the school's all-time goals-scored record of 26, as well as the single-season record of 11, but it also clinched Samford's second straight SoCon regular-season championship.
WINNING IS CONTAGIOUSThe Bulldogs have been victorious in 11 consecutive conference matches and have not allowed a league foe to score in the regular season since Oct. 17, 2014. Samford is also in the midst of a nine match winning streak and has secured the No. 1 seed in the upcoming SoCon Tournament. The Bulldogs are outscoring their SoCon opponents by a total of 21-0 this season.
Samford's current winning streak marks its longest since 2011 when the Bulldogs rattled off 10 straight victories encompassing 32 consecutive days.
RECORD-SETTING DEFENSESamford set the school's record for longest shutout streak Friday by extending its mark to 763-consecutive minutes without allowing a goal. The Bulldogs snapped the school's previous record of 730 minutes, which was set in 2009 when current Assistant Coach
Alyssa Whitehead was starring in goal.
The Bulldogs' goalkeepers this season,
Anna Maddox and
Katie Peters, have been rotating starts and have combined to record nine shutouts, while only allowing 13 goals in 17 matches. On the season, Samford has outscored its opponents by a total of 40-13.
Maddox, the Bulldogs' talented 6-foot native of Warner Robins, Georgia, played all 90 minutes against ETSU and registered three big-time saves in the triumph. With the victory, Maddox improved to 7-1 on the season and notched her fourth shutout.
BULLDOGS LOOKING TO MAKE SOCON HISTORYWith a shutout against
Western Carolina (7-7-3, 3-4-1 SoCon) on Sunday, Samford would become the first school in SoCon history to finish league play without allowing a goal. The current SoCon record is four and has been achieved eight times in the 20-year history of the league.
Mercer proved to be the most recent team to only allow four goals in conference play as the Bears tallied the feat last season. The seven other times that the achievement has occurred are as follows: Samford in 2010, UNCG in 2008, UNCG in 2009, Furman in 2002, UNCG in 2000, Davidson in 1999 and UNCG in 1997.
The Bulldogs are also tied with their school record of 13 goals allowed in a season. The record was set in 2005 as Samford finished with a 15-4-4 overall mark and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament. The Bulldogs outscored their opponents by a total of 37-13 that season.
SCOUTING THE OPPOSITIONWestern Carolina enters Sunday's match with a full head of steam after defeating Chattanooga, 2-0, on Friday. In the Catamounts' victory, Kimberly Sullivan and Sayres McKenna both scored second-half goals.
Sophomore midfielder Kasey Cooke currently leads Western Carolina in scoring this season with five goals. She has also handed out a trio of assists to increase her team-leading points total to 13.
In SoCon play this year, the Catamounts have outscored their opponents, 13-10.
THE ALL-TIME SERIESSamford owns a 7-1-1 all-time record against Western Carolina and has been victorious in the last five meetings between the teams.
Since playing to a 1-1 draw in 2009, the Bulldogs have rattled off consecutive wins of 1-0, 2-1, 3-2, 2-1 (OT) and 4-1 last season. Samford has never lost to Western Carolina in Cullowhee and owns a 3-0 record when facing the Catamounts at the Catamount Athletic Complex.
LAST YEAR'S MEETINGSamford scored two goals in the opening 20 minutes of action last season to stun the defensive-minded Western Carolina squad en route to a 4-1 home victory. The Bulldogs' first goal of the contest was scored by midfielder
Ariane Lukens on a brilliant header from 10 yards out.
Unbelievably, Samford's second goal might have been even prettier than its first. Exactly seven minutes after Lukens' tally, the Bulldogs'
Jermaine Seoposenwe fired a one-time, left-footed laser from 20 yards out perfectly into the top right corner of the net.
Early in the second half, the Bulldogs' offensive expertise continued to excel as
Amanda Abbott scored her fourth goal of the season at 52:34 to give Samford a 3-0 lead. On the goal, Abbott collected a quick through pass from Kelley and rifled a shot high into the net directly above goalkeeper Carly Tintsman.
Samford added its fourth goal of the match in the 61
st minute as Seoposenwe converted a penalty-kick opportunity. The penalty-kick opportunity was set in place as Seoposenwe was dragged down in the box by a pair of Western Carolina defenders. Samford's speedy native of Cape Town, South Africa, then calmly drilled the shot into the top left corner of the next to give the Bulldogs a 4-0 advantage.
WHAT'S COMING UP NEXT?The back-to-back SoCon regular-season champion Samford University soccer team will next be in action Saturday at 7 p.m. (CDT) as the Bulldogs return home to Birmingham, Alabama, for a quarterfinal-round match in the SoCon Tournament.
Samford, the No. 1 seed, will play host to either the No. 8 or No. 9-seeded team in the tournament. Those two squads will square off in an opening-round matchup Wednesday. VMI is currently the eighth-place team in the conference, while Chattanooga holds sole possession of ninth place with Sunday's matches yet to come.
For quick score updates, breaking news and links to all of your favorite articles featuring the Bulldogs, please follow
@SamfordSoccer and
@Samford_Sports on Twitter.
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