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GREENVILLE, S.C. -- The Samford University soccer team's record-setting season came to a difficult end Friday as the top-seeded Bulldogs were defeated in a penalty kick shootout by the Mercer Bears, 4-3, in the semifinal round of the Southern Conference Tournament held at Stone Soccer Stadium on the campus of Furman University.  
 
Samford (14-5-1) and Mercer (9-7-4) battled to a hard-fought 1-1 draw throughout 90 minutes of regulation and two overtime periods, before heading to the penalty kick shootout.
 
The Bears' Maddie Clark, Sarah Daane, Corinne Wooten and Haleigh Svede all connected in the shootout period, with their only miss coming in the third round by leading scorer Katelyn Dimopoulos.
 
Samford missed its first attempt in PKs, but then Taylor Borman, Emily Jones and Kaitlyn Orman all scored on consecutive shots to even the score at 3-3, heading into the final round.
 

Mercer's Svede tallied a goal in the fifth round, putting the pressure on the Bulldogs' Jermaine Seoposenwe to even the count. On her attempt, Seoposenwe fired a shot far to the left side, but it caromed off the post and failed to cross the line.
 
Officially, Friday's match is considered a draw with Mercer advancing in the SoCon Tournament via penalty kicks, 4-3. The Bears will face either No. 2 seed Furman or No. 3 seed UNCG in Sunday's SoCon championship match beginning at noon (CST) on ESPN3.
 
Samford opened the scoring Friday with a goal from All-SoCon First-Team performer Malcanisha Kelley in the 49^th minute. The score, Kelley's school-record 13^th of the season, gave the Bulldogs a 1-0 advantage early in the second half. Kelley, a junior this year, also holds the school's all-time record in goals with 28.
 
Borman proved to be the catalyst on Kelley's goal as she sent a perfectly-placed crossing pass from the right flank directly in front of the net. Kelley then skied over a defender and headed the ball into the back of the net.
 
With a personal-best 11 assists this season, Borman finished tied for the team's lead in the category along with Seoposenwe.
 
Mercer answered with a goal of its own just over 24 minutes later. At exactly 72:21 into the match, the Bears' Valeria Bermeo equalized the score at 1-1 with her third goal of the 2015 campaign. Bermeo's score came on a 20-yard blast from the right side.
 
Down the stretch, Samford played its way into a pair of possible game-winning goals from Seoposenwe and Kelley, but Mercer goalkeeper Maggie Cropp made a pair of fantastic saves. The Bulldogs' pair also missed a pair of shot attempts high and wide to the right, respectively.
 

Cropp finished with six saves Friday as Samford outshot the Bears, 16-12. The Bulldogs also notched more corner kick attempts, 8-5.
 
Junior Sara Smeltzer paced Samford with five shot attempts, while Borman, Kelley and Seoposenwe all finished with three apiece. Mercer's Svede led her side with three shots and connected on the clinching penalty kick goal in the shootout.
 
The Samford University soccer team concluded its 2015 campaign as regular-season SoCon champions and with a 14-5-1 overall record. The Bulldogs earned a momentous 2-1 victory over Wake Forest and posted an 8-1record in conference play.
 
Samford finished the season with nine players earning All-SoCon honors and Head Coach Todd Yelton was named the SoCon Coach of the Year for a second straight year.
 
Next season, the Bulldogs will be without the efforts of current seniors Hallie Georgi, Alissa Hansen and Kinsey Sessions, but will return nine starters from this year's championship squad. Samford will also boast an additional 11 returning letterwinners.
 
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