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CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. -- The Samford University soccer team will face a tough road test Friday at 6 p.m. (CDT) as the Bulldogs travel to square off against the resurgent Chattanooga Mocs in a marquee Southern Conference contest to be held at UTC's Finley Stadium.
 
Samford (7-3-2, 3-1 SoCon) heads into the matchup having won six of its last seven outings, including back-to-back home shutouts against Mercer, 2-0, and The Citadel, 3-0, over the weekend. The Bulldogs boast a 6-1 record in home games this season, but are 1-2-2 when playing on the road.
 

Samford's Jermaine Seoposenwe is currently tied for the SoCon lead in both goals (9) and assists (5), but owns the league's top spot in total points (23). Additionally, the Bulldogs' senior forward is ranked seventh in the nation in total points and ninth in points per game (2.09).
 
Both Samford and Chattanooga (5-7-1, 3-1 SoCon) enter Friday's showdown tied for first place in the conference standings. The Bulldogs' lone loss in conference play occurred on the road at Furman on Sept. 25, 3-2, while the Mocs' only SoCon setback also came against Furman on the road, 4-0, on Sept. 25.
 
THE LAST TIME OUT - - SAMFORD BLANKS THE CITADEL AT HOME, 3-0
Samford used a pair of goals from Seoposenwe on Sunday to earn a decisive 3-0 victory against The Citadel Bulldogs and to also extend its home winning streak to five-consecutive matches held at the Samford Track and Soccer Stadium.
 
With the victory, Samford improved to 6-1 at home this season and 9-1-1 all-time against The Citadel. Additionally, the Bulldogs tallied their fourth-consecutive win over the Cadets, dating back to 2013. Since being shocked by The Citadel, 3-2, on Oct. 18, 2013, Samford has outscored the Cadets, 17-1, in the series.
 

Seoposenwe scored her first goal of the match at exactly 29:16 into the first half. On the game-winning goal, junior forward Abriella Argueta sent a perfectly-placed crossing pass deep into the box that Seoposenwe headed home from five yards out. The goal proved to be Seoposenwe's eighth of the season and gave the Bulldogs an early 1-0 lead.
 
Nearly 15 minutes into the second half, Samford's Seoposenwe struck again for her second goal of the afternoon. The scoring opportunity was initiated by sophomore forward Ella Baggett, who rifled a shot attempt from the left corner of the box. Baggett's attempt was saved and deflected by The Citadel's goalkeeper Logan Leask, but the ball bounded directly out to Seoposenwe 15 yards away in the middle of the field.
 
Seoposenwe, who was in the perfect place at the perfect time, then fired a right-footed shot into the right corner of the goal for the score, her team-leading ninth of the season.
 
With her two-goal performance, Seoposenwe moved into a tie for ninth place all-time on Samford's goals-scored list. She currently has 19 goals scored in her career and is tied with former Bulldog-great Hayley Kolb, who played at Samford from 2000-03.
 

Just over five minutes later, the Bulldogs' Taylor Borman was credited with a penalty kick after The Citadel committed an egregious handball in the box. Borman, the Bulldogs' senior forward from Georgetown, Kentucky, then easily found the back of the net on the attempt, right of the goalkeeper, for her fifth goal of the season. Borman's score also gave Samford its decisive 3-0 decision Sunday.
 
SCOUTING THE OPPOSITION
Chattanooga heads into Friday's showdown with a full head of steam after topping Mercer, 2-1, in overtime Sunday. With the victory, the Mocs extended their winning streak to three-consecutive matches and moved into a tie for first place in the conference standings.
 
Since suffering a three-match losing streak at the hands of Eastern Kentucky, 1-0, Austin Peay, 3-2, and Furman, 4-0, Chattanooga has responded with consecutive victories against Wofford, 2-1, The Citadel, 1-0, and Mercer. The Mocs' head coach Gavin McKinney is in the midst of his second season at Chattanooga and owns a 9-19-4 record at the school.
 
This season, the Mocs have already registered their most wins since 2011 and the most SoCon victories since 2004. Chattanooga has scored 20 goals on the year on 153 shots taken with a 1.54 goals per game average and 11.8 shots per game.
 
Junior forward Peyton McCollum leads the team in scoring with four goals and a team-high five assists on 26 shots. Ellie Myrick boasts a team-best five goals with two assists for 12 points and a team-leading 37 shots. Freshmen Hannah Torbett and Jordan Mueller have two goals apiece. Torbett is ranked third on the team in scoring with seven points and a team-best two game winning goals.
 
In goal, Melia Correa has tallied 45 saves for a .763 saves percentage through nine games. Katie Emig has a 3-1-0 record and two shutouts while giving up four goals in four games. She has a .750 saves percentage and a 1.00 goals against average.
 
Chattanooga, which is the only team in the conference to play its home matches on turf, holds a 4-3 record when playing at Finley Stadium this season.
 
SAMFORD vs. CHATTANOOGA - - THE ALL-TIME SERIES
The Bulldogs have not been defeated by Chattanooga in over 17 years, dating back to Sept. 21, 1999. Samford leads the all-time series by a count of 10-1 and are in the midst of a nine-match winning streak against the Mocs. Chattanooga's lone victory in the series occurred in Chattanooga in 1999, which proved to be the Bulldogs' second season with a soccer team.
 
Samford boasts a 5-0 record when playing the Mocs at home and a 5-1 all-time mark on the road. The teams have never squared off in postseason play. All-time, the Bulldogs hold a 33-10 scoring advantage in the series.
 
DATE                           RESULT                                                     LOCATION
Sept. 29, 1998             Samford def. Chattanooga, 3-2 (OT)           Birmingham, Ala.
Sept. 21, 1999             Chattanooga def. Samford, 2-0                     Chattanooga, Tenn.
Aug. 31, 2003             Samford def. Chattanooga, 2-1                    Chattanooga, Tenn.
Oct. 20, 2008              Samford def. Chattanooga, 4-2                    Birmingham, Ala.
Oct. 29, 2009              Samford def. Chattanooga, 3-1                    Chattanooga, Tenn.
Oct. 27, 2010              Samford def. Chattanooga, 3-0                    Chattanooga, Tenn.
Oct. 26, 2011              Samford def. Chattanooga, 2-1                    Birmingham, Ala.
Oct. 24, 2012              Samford def. Chattanooga, 3-0                    Chattanooga, Tenn.
Oct. 30, 2013              Samford def. Chattanooga, 7-1                    Birmingham, Ala.
Sept. 28, 2014             Samford def. Chattanooga, 3-0                    Chattanooga, Tenn.
Oct. 16, 2015              Samford def. Chattanooga, 3-0                    Birmingham, Ala.
--- Samford leads the all-time series 10-1; 5-1 when playing in Chattanooga.
 
LAST SEASON'S MEETING - - SAMFORD PLAYS TO 3-0 VICTORY OVER CHATTANOOGA
The Bulldogs defeated Chattanooga, 3-0, and extended their shutout streak to 673 minutes as they notched their eighth-consecutive victory on the season in the triumph.
 

Samford's duo of talented goalkeepers Anna Maddox and Katie Peters split the time last year. Maddox started the contest in goal and earned the victory to improve to 5-1 on the season. Peters played the entire second half of the match and improved her goals-against average to 0.81 in 2015.
 
Hallie Georgi added to her list of accolades versus Chattanooga by scoring the game-winning goal.
 
In the 24^th minute, Borman sent a high, perfectly-placed corner kick deep into the goalkeeping box. Samford's Malcanisha Kelley skied high for the header, but barely nicked the ball sending it careening off the bottom of the crossbar. Georgi, who had followed Kelley into the zone for a header, quickly gathered the ball and tapped it home for her sixth score of the season.
 
The Bulldogs' Borman also assisted on the team's second goal of the match.
 
At exactly 59:29, Samford's speedy native of Georgetown, Kentucky, stole an errant Chattanooga pass deep in Moc territory and quickly sent it across the field to Grace Packer who rifled home the first goal of her young up-and-coming career. The score gave the Bulldogs some breathing room with a 2-0 advantage and the assist proved to be Borman's career-high ninth of the season.
 
Sara Smeltzer continued her goal-scoring tear last season as she notched her fourth score in three matches against Chattanooga. Smeltzer, Samford's talented native of Birmingham, extended the Bulldogs' lead to 3-0 in 74^th minute of play as she collected a crossing pass from Baggett, slid by a Chattanooga defender and rifled home a shot into the left corner of the net.
 
SEOPOSENWE NAMED SOCON PLAYER OF THE MONTH
Samford's Seoposenwe was named the SoCon Player of the Month on Wednesday after the Bulldogs' senior forward scored five goals and handed out four assists en route to a 5-1-1 team record in September. The honor is selected by the league office.
 
Seoposenwe, who competed in the 2016 Olympic Games for her home country of South Africa, played a dynamic role in Samford's 5-1-1 record last month. The Bulldogs outscored the opposition by a total of 14-6 in the month and recorded victories against Baylor and Alabama, as well as a critical road draw at Rice.
 
Seoposenwe finished September with five goals, four assists, 14 points and three game-winning goals, all of which proved to be team-highs for the Bulldogs. With only 14 shot attempts in the month, seven were on-goal and five found the back of the net for a brilliant .357 shooting percentage, as well as a .500 shots-on-goal percentage.
 
Seoposenwe's game-winning goals in the month came against Alabama, Wofford and Mercer, while she was named the SoCon Player of the Week on Sept. 6. On the road at Wofford on Sept. 23, Seoposenwe registered a two-goal performance against the Terriers. Additionally, she tacked on a goal and two assists at Rice on Sept. 2.
 
Seoposenwe shares the league leads with nine goals and five assists and holds the outright scoring lead with 23 points this season.
 
SAMFORD'S MADDOX NAMED SOCON STUDENT-ATHLETE OF THE WEEK
The Bulldogs' Maddox garnered one of the SoCon's top honors Wednesday as the junior goalkeeper was named the league's Student-Athlete of the Week, it was officially announced by the conference office.
 
Maddox, a junior from Warner Robins, Georgia, played a key role in the Bulldogs' 2-0 record last week with wins against Mercer and The Citadel. She didn't allow a single goal on the week after facing six shot attempts and her three saves allowed the Bulldogs to pick up a pair of victories and increase their home winning streak to five straight matches.
 
Maddox owns a perfect 6-0 record in goal this season and her shutout victory against Mercer on Friday proved to be her third of the season. In the classroom, Maddox boasts a 3.8 grade point average as a nursing major.
 
WHAT'S COMING UP NEXT?
Following Friday's first-place SoCon showdown at Chattanooga, the Samford University soccer team will next be in action Oct. 14, at 7 p.m. (CDT) as the Bulldogs return home to Birmingham, Alabama, to face the Western Carolina Catamounts in another key league matchup to be held at the Samford Track and Soccer Stadium.
 
Next week's match will also feature Samford's Senior Night where the Bulldogs will honor all eight members of their graduating class. Samford's 2016 senior class comprised of Anna Allen, Borman, Olivia Cole, Emily Jones, Kelley, Peters, Seoposenwe and Smeltzer will all be honored with a special Senior Night presentation before the match.
 
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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