CULLOWHEE, N.C. -- Just two days removed from winning its second straight Southern Conference regular-season championship, the Samford University soccer team suffered its first defeat in over a month Sunday as the Bulldogs dropped a 1-0 road decision against the Western Carolina Catamounts in a hard-fought contest held at the Catamount Athletic Complex.

With the loss, Samford (13-5, 8-1 SoCon) had its winning streak snapped at nine consecutive matches and suffered its first defeat in SoCon regular-season play since losing at Furman, 1-0, on Oct. 17, 2014. The Bulldogs also saw their school-record shutout streak come to an end at 782:22 minutes.

Western Carolina (8-7-3, 4-4-1 SoCon) defeated Samford at home for the first time in school history and improved to 2-7-1 against the Bulldogs. The Catamounts' victory snapped Samford's five-match winning streak in the series and secured their No. 6 seed in next week's SoCon Tournament.

The Bulldogs, who will be the No. 1-seeded team in the upcoming SoCon Tournament, will play host to either No. 8 Chattanooga or No. 9 VMI on Saturday at 7 p.m. (CDT) in the quarterfinal round of the 10-team postseason event.

Chattanooga and VMI are scheduled to face off in Chattanooga, Tennessee, at 5 p.m., Wednesday.

The decisive play in Sunday's regular-season finale occurred in the 20^th minute of action as Western Carolina's Amanda Schwartz registered the game-winning goal following a double-assist from Sara Robinson and Markie Studnicky. The Catamounts' score, which proved to be Schwartz's second of the season, gave Western Carolina an early 1-0 advantage.

After scoring their early goal, the Catamounts were able to play with a more potent defensive posture, which made it tough sledding for Samford's stout offensive attack. The Bulldogs still outshot Western Carolina, 12-7, but couldn't find the back of the net.

Samford's offense was paced by its forward trio comprised of Malcanisha Kelley, Jermaine Seoposenwe and Sara Smeltzer. All three of the aforementioned Bulldog juniors finished the match with three shot attempts apiece.

Western Carolina's decisive score in the 20^th minute proved to be the only goal that Samford allowed in SoCon play this season. The Bulldogs outscored their league opponents by a total of 21-1 en route to an 8-1 record and their second straight SoCon regular-season title.

Samford's one goal allowed in conference play this year set the SoCon's all-time record in the category. The previous record was four and was achieved eight times.

The Bulldogs' Katie Peters started in goal Sunday and finished with two key saves. The loss marred her season record a bit, but she still boasts a 7-4 tally heading into the postseason. Peters, Samford's talented sophomore from Greenfield, Indiana, also owns four shutouts in 2015, as well as a solid 0.83 goals-against average this year.

Western Carolina's goalkeeper Lauren Martin notched three big-time saves Sunday and improved her record on the season to 3-1-1.

Samford dominated the corner kick category, 7-2, as both teams were called for nine fouls.

The 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 matchup in the SoCon Tournament.

Samford, the No. 1 seed, will play host to either the No. 8 Chattanooga or No. 9 VMI in the tournament. Those two squads will square off in an opening-round matchup Wednesday at 5 p.m., in Chattanooga, Tennessee.

Earlier this season, the Bulldogs defeated Chattanooga, 3-0, and VMI, 7-0.

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.