Box Score
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BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- The Samford University soccer team tied its largest margin of victory in Southern Conference play Friday as the Bulldogs notched a 7-0 home triumph against the VMI Keydets in a league matchup held at the Samford Track and Soccer Stadium.
 
Samford's seven-goal victory equaled its previous SoCon-record total of seven goals, which was also achieved in a 7-0 win at The Citadel on Oct. 3, 2010.
 
"I thought we played great tonight," said Samford head coach Todd Yelton. "We knocked it extremely well and I know the score doesn't really reflect it, but I think VMI is much improved. They were organized, they played hard, but we just had a very good night."
 
Samford (10-4, 5-0 SoCon) extended its regular-season conference winning streak to eight-consecutive matches and earned its sixth straight victory since Sept. 13. During that span, the Bulldogs have outscored the opposition by a total of 22-1.
 
With Friday's loss, VMI (4-9, 0-4 SoCon) suffered its fourth-consecutive defeat and moved to 0-2 all-time against the Bulldogs.
 
"VMI worked their socks off and they played very hard tonight," said Yelton. "I think they certainly have a chance to get some positive results in the future. There were times in the second half when we weren't able to get things going and I thought they had a lot to do with that."
 
Samford's Malcanisha Kelley paced the Bulldogs' offensive attack Friday and opened the scoring with a quick goal just 4:17 into the match. After tallying the game-winning score, Samford's SoCon-leading goal-scorer also added her 10^th tally of the season in the 16^th minute to give the Bulldogs a lightning-quick 3-0 led.
 
With Kelley's pair of goals scored, Samford's junior native of Childersburg moved just one goal shy of tying both the school's single-season goals record, as well as the Bulldogs' career record.
 
Kelley has already scored 10 goals this season and boasts 25 in her career. Former Bulldog-great Marian Wagner currently holds the top spot in both single-season goals (11) and career goals scored (26).
 
Kaitlyn Orman scored Samford's second goal of the evening in the 14^th minute on a pretty one-timed running shot off a double-assist from Jermaine Seoposenwe and Alissa Hansen. The score proved to be Orman's second of the season, while the assist was Seoposenwe's SoCon-leading 10^th of the year. The helper also marked Hansen's first of the 2015 campaign.
 
In the final 13 minutes of the first half, Samford extended its advantage to 5-0 with goals from Olivia Cole (33') and Kinsey Sessions (41').
 
The Bulldogs' 5-0 halftime lead proved to be the team's largest of the season.
 
"I thought the first half was very well-played," Yelton said. "We were as good in possession as we've been in a very long time in the first half. I didn't think we got off to a great start in the second half, but to VMI's credit, they had a lot to do with that."
 
Samford added two goals in the second half of play Friday and they were both scored by junior forward Sara Smeltzer. Additionally, they were both tallied in a span of just 33 seconds. At exactly 71:43, Smeltzer scored her second goal of the season to give Samford a 6-0 lead, and then at 72:16, only 33 seconds later, the Bulldogs' native of Birmingham fired home her third goal of the year.
 
"With the preconference schedule that we played this year, we were only really able to play a total of 13 or 14 in those matches, so it was great to get some of our younger players some experience," said Yelton. "I thought it was great for Kinsey Sessions to do what she's been able to do in the last few games and Sara Smeltzer has been fantastic as well. I thought she had a great night for us tonight."
 
The Bulldogs' seven goals scored Friday proved to be the team's highest offensive output since defeating Chattanooga, 7-1, on Oct. 30, 2013.
 
Samford also extended its consecutive shutout streak to five straight matches for a total of 493 minutes without allowing a goal.
 
The Bulldogs' Anna Maddox started in goal on Friday and registered two critical saves en route to her third shutout of the season. With the win, Samford's talented 6-foot goalkeeper from Warner Robins, Georgia, improved to 4-1.
 
Samford outshot VMI, 30-4, and tallied a 17-2 advantage in shots on goal. The Bulldogs also won the corner kick battle, 9-1.
 
The Samford University soccer team will next be in action Sunday at 2 p.m. (CDT) as the Bulldogs continue play in their three-match SoCon homestand against the UNCG Spartans in a key SoCon showdown to be held at the Samford Track and Soccer Stadium.

Box Score
Samford Stats