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BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- Just 14:19 into Sunday's home test against Georgia, a Samford defender inadvertently touched the ball with her arm in the left corner of the box, which gave the visiting Bulldogs a penalty kick attempt. Senior midfielder Bella Hartley was chosen to take the kick for Georgia and she knocked home the game-winning goal into the right corner of the net.
 
The score was Hartley's first of the season.
 
"It's a tough way to lose a match," said Samford head coach Todd Yelton. "The ball just took a funny bounce and our player hit it with her arm and before you know it, we're down 1-0. From that point on, we were chasing the game and that's not the situation you want to be in when you're playing a team as talented as Georgia, especially when they haven't gotten a result yet this season, because we knew they were going to be playing like crazy."
 
With Sunday's loss, Samford (4-4-0) moved to 4-3 at home this season. The Bulldogs' three losses at the Samford Track and Soccer Stadium have come against No. 15 Duke, Georgia (1-5-1) and South Alabama. The Bulldogs' remaining loss of the 2015 campaign occurred on the road at No. 11 Auburn.
 
Samford will not have a match this Friday and will next be in action Sunday against Kennesaw State at noon (CDT) in Marietta, Georgia.
 
"We certainly need some recovery after this tough stretch of games," Yelton said. "We've been hard at it since the preseason and we haven't had any easy game yet this season. It will be some much-needed rest and recovery for our players, who have played a lot of minutes and are in the height of our training cycle right now. We'll use this week to get ready to play Kennesaw State, which is always a very tough one for us."
 
Samford owns an 8-26-3 all-time record against Southeastern Conference opponents, but is 5-3 in its last eight meetings.
 
"I thought we were really poor in the first half," Yelton said. "There are very few coaches in the country that I respect more than (Georgia head coach) Billy Lesesne. I certainly wish that our team would have shown Georgia the same amount of respect as I have for Billy, because I didn't think we were up for it in the first half."
 
Throughout the opening period, Samford seemed a bit discombobulated and offensive runs proved to be hard to come by. Georgia outshot the Bulldogs, 8-3, in the first 45 minutes of action.
 
Georgia's attack was paced by Marion Crowder, Mariel Gutierrez, Lauren Tanner and Hartley, who all finished Sunday's contest with two shot attempts.
 
Samford's redshirt freshman Kaitlyn Orman rattled off a team-high three shot attempts Sunday and nearly equalized the match at 1-1 midway through the second half.
 
On the Bulldogs' best scoring opportunity of the contest, freshman Ella Baggett drove the right flank and slipped through a pair of defenders on her way towards goal. She then dropped off a pass directly in the middle of the box where Orman ripped a shot that just barely sailed over the crossbar.
 
The second half proved to be significantly more productive for Samford as the Bulldogs outshot Georgia, 7-3, in the final period. Georgia's sophomore goalkeeper from Asa, Sweden, Louise Hogrell earned four key saves.
 
"I have to give Georgia a lot of credit," said Yelton. "They made it hard on us to break them down. They were very organized and I thought their outside backs gave great cover and that coaching staff definitely knows what it's doing. That's a fantastic staff and they certainly deserve the result tonight. I'm certainly disappointed with the outcome, but incredibly happy for Billy to get his first win, I just wish that it wouldn't have come against us."
 
Samford's sophomore goalkeeper Katie Peters notched three saves in the opening 77 minutes of action before making way for Anna Maddox to close out the match. The Bulldogs won the corner kick battle, 4-1.
 
Sunday's penalty kick was the first allowed by Samford this season. It also proved to be Georgia's initial of 2015 as well.
 
Georgia will return to action Thursday on the road against LSU. Earlier Sunday, the Tigers played host to No. 15 Duke and tallied a pivotal 1-0 victory. LSU's game-winning goal was also scored on a penalty kick.
 
"Early on, I thought our team was still dealing with Friday night (losing at home to Duke, 2-1, in double overtime)," Yelton said. "We let tired legs get the better of us from a mental standpoint."
 
The Samford University soccer team will next be in action Sunday at noon (CDT) as the Bulldogs travel to Marietta, Georgia, for a nonconference contest with the Kennesaw State Owls. The matchup will be held at KSU's Marietta Campus.
 
Last season, the Owls invaded the Samford Track and Soccer Stadium and handed Samford a 4-2 loss.
 
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Box Score
Samford Stats