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MACON, Ga. -- In a rematch of the 2014 Southern Conference Tournament championship, the Samford University soccer team will square off against the Mercer Bears on Sunday at noon (CDT) in a pivotal early league contest to be held at Mercer University's Bear Field.
 
Samford (8-4-0, 3-0-0 SoCon) heads into the meeting riding the positive momentum of a four-match winning streak. Since losing a close home contest to Georgia on Sept. 13, 1-0, the Bulldogs have rattled off consecutive victories against Kennesaw State, 5-2, Furman, 2-0, Wofford, 1-0, and The Citadel, 5-0.
 
THE LAST TIME OUT
On Friday, the Bulldogs breezed to a 5-0 road victory at The Citadel. With the win, defending SoCon-champion Samford remained undefeated in conference matches this season and tallied its third straight shutout victory.
 
Five different players scored goals for Samford on Friday as the Bulldogs equaled their highest score total of the season. Also in 2015, Samford has scored five goals in wins against Memphis, 5-1, and Kennesaw State, 5-2.
 
Junior Malcanisha Kelley opened the scoring with the game-winning goal in the 14^th minute, while Taylor Borman, Kinsey Sessions, Hallie Georgi and Virginia McNeill also added scores.
 
Samford's Katie Peters earned the complete-game shutout in goal for the Bulldogs and upped her impressive record on the season to 6-3. Peters boasts an impressive 0.94 goals-against average in 2015 and owns three shutouts. She registered six key saves Friday versus The Citadel.
 
Since beginning SoCon play last week, Samford has yet to allow a goal and has outscored the opposition by a count of 8-0.
 
SCOUTING THE COMPETITION
Mercer (5-4-2, 2-0-0 SoCon) also enters Sunday's showdown with an unblemished conference record this season. The Bears opened league play with a 3-0 home victory against The Citadel on Sept. 26, before downing Chattanooga, 6-1, on Friday.
 
Against the Mocs in its most recent outing, Mercer controlled the pace of the game early and Sarah Daane started the scoring with a header off a corner kick in the 19th minute. Katelyn Dimopoulos added a pair of goals in the 37th and 38th minutes to give Mercer a 3-0 advantage into halftime.
 
Despite a Chattanooga goal midway through the second half, Mercer kept the momentum and added another three goals to move the lead to 6-1.
 
Dimopoulos scored a career-high five points, which included the game-winning goal. She registered two goals and an assist, all of which came in the first half. The two goals are also a career high for the junior. Mercer led Chattanooga in shots, 23-12, as well as shots on goal, 10-3.
 
THE ALL-TIME SERIES
Samford owns a 7-2-2 all-time record against Mercer. The Bears joined the SoCon in 2014 and the teams split a pair of matches last year. On Oct. 26, Samford clinched the league's regular-season championship with a 1-0 home victory at the Samford Track and Soccer Stadium.
 
Mercer, on Nov. 9, 2014, was able to exact revenge against the Bulldogs in the championship match of the SoCon Tournament. In a hard-fought contest between the best two teams in the conference, the Bears held on for a 2-1 victory held at Western Carolina University in Cullowhee, North Carolina.
 
LAST SEASON'S SOCON TOURNAMENT MEETING
With less than three minutes to play in regulation and the score deadlocked at 1-1, Mercer's Brianna Stampler looped a high corner kick deep into the box where the Bears' Washida Blackman sent a header towards goal. Blackman's shot attempt was blocked by a Samford defender, but the ball bounced awkwardly off the turf and found the back of the net.
 
The score gave Mercer a late 2-1 advantage with just 2:42 left to play in the championship match of the 2014 SoCon Tournament. In the waning seconds of action, regular-season champion Samford battled hard to equalize the contest, but Ariane Lukens' last-second shot attempt was saved by Bears' goalkeeper Maggie Cropp.
 
The own goal proved to be the difference in last season's title match as Mercer held on for the 2-1 win. With the victory, the Bears earned the championship title of the SoCon Tournament and received the conference's automatic bid to the 2014 NCAA Championship.
 
WHAT'S COMING UP NEXT?
Following Sunday's marquee matchup at Mercer, the Samford University soccer team will next be in action Friday at 7 p.m. (CDT) as the Bulldogs play host to VMI in a SoCon contest to be held at the Samford Track and Soccer Stadium.
 
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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