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BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- In a Southern Conference showdown that featured the top two preseason picks in the league standings Friday, the Samford University soccer team earned a momentous 2-0 triumph over the Furman Paladins in a key conference-opening contest held at the Samford Track and Soccer Stadium.
 
"I thought we had a really good go of it tonight," said Samford head coach Todd Yelton. "Furman is a very good team and obviously it's always a big rivalry game for both sides. Furman is off to a great start this season, so to get a win against this team was a great way to open conference play."
 
The Bulldogs' Hallie Georgi (7') and Taylor Borman (59') both scored goals in the victory as Samford (6-4, 1-0 SoCon) snapped a four-match winless streak against Furman (7-4, 0-1 SoCon). The defending SoCon regular-season champion Bulldogs, who were picked to repeat as league champs in the annual preseason poll, improved to 6-3-1 in the all-time series.
 
Furman entered the season picked to finish second in the SoCon and boasted forward Carlie Couch and midfielder Stephanie DeVita on the preseason All-SoCon team.
 
"Over the last four or five years, both us and Furman have really had great success in the league and outside of the league," Yelton said. "They opened the season with a win at Oklahoma this year and we were able to beat Wake Forest. Plus, anytime that we play Furman, it's always interesting. Andrew (Burr) does an outstanding job with that team and (Stephanie) DeVita and (Carlie) Couch are fantastic, so for us to keep them off the board was a huge accomplishment."
 
Samford's Anna Maddox received her second straight start in goal Friday and turned in a brilliant three-save performance. The Bulldogs' athletic 6-foot sophomore goalkeeper from Warner Robins, Georgia, notched her first complete-game save of the season.
 
Offensively, Samford outshot Furman, 16-9, and dominated the corner kick category, 8-1. Both teams finished the contest with four shots on goal.
 
The Bulldogs opened Friday's scoring in the seventh minute as Georgi registered her third goal in two matches. Georgi, Samford's lightning-fast senior from Cicero, Indiana, is ranked second on the team with four goals this season, with three of the four coming since Sunday at Kennesaw State.
 
Against arch-rival Furman, Georgi knocked home the game-winning goal at 6:43 into the match off a picture-perfect crossing pass from junior Jermaine Seoposenwe.
 
Seoposenwe initiated the scoring play after stealing an errant Furman pass near midfield. Samford's uber-talented native of Cape Town, South Africa, then bolted down the right flank and sent a pass directly to Georgi's feet on the far side. With the Paladins' goalkeeper Maggie Grisell shifted far to her left, Georgi sent a quick, one-timed shot into the left side of the net for the score.
 
The assist proved to be Seoposenwe's SoCon-leading ninth of the season. She entered the weekend ranked second in the nation in the category.
 
"Hallie's really come on lately and I think she's having a great senior year," Yelton said. "Jermaine is doing an outstanding job of getting the ball to the right people. I thought we could have had a couple more goals in the first half, but fair play to Furman. They worked really hard and did a great job of making some very tough stops."
 
Just over 13 minutes into the second half, Samford's Borman gave the Bulldogs some breathing room by scoring her second goal of the season.
 
At exactly 58:09 into the match, Samford's Borman gathered a drop-off pass from Sara Smeltzer, faked to her left and then rattled off a shot that was placed neatly into the top shelf above Grisell's outstretched arms. Borman's score gave the Bulldogs their decisive 2-0 advantage.
 
Samford recorded just its second shutout victory of the season Friday. Since opening the 2015 campaign with a 2-0 home triumph against Boise State, the Bulldogs had allowed at least one goal in each of their next eight matches.
 
"Our back four played great tonight," said Yelton. "Alissa (Hansen) hasn't played center back for us all year, but she had a fantastic match. Anna Allen is such a great character kid for us. She gives her heart and soul every time out and I just can't say enough about that group. If you can keep Furman off the board, then you've put in a shift."
 
The Samford University soccer team will next be in action Sunday at 2 p.m. (CDT) as the Bulldogs welcome the Wofford Terriers to the Samford Track and Soccer Stadium for yet another key league test.
 
"In the league, every game is hard," Yelton said. "None of them are easy and (Head Coach) Amy (Kiah) does a great job with Wofford. Our games against them have all been really challenging over the last several years and they've also held a lead over us in a few of those and we've had to come back to get the result. None of the games in the league are easy, because they all matter."
 
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