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JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. -- The Samford University soccer team earned its fourth trip to the NCAA Tournament on Sunday as the Bulldogs rallied from behind to defeat the ETSU Buccaneers, 2-1, in the championship match of the 2016 Southern Conference Tournament held at Summers-Taylor Stadium on the campus of East Tennessee State University.
 
Samford will hold its NCAA Selection Show Party on Monday beginning at 3:15 p.m. (CST) in the Coca-Cola Hospitality Suite of the Pete Hanna Center. The NCAA Selection Show will air on NCAA.com on Monday, Nov. 7, at 3:30 p.m.
 
The NCAA Tournament begins Friday, but play will be held throughout the weekend depending on which regional site the Bulldogs get sent to. In years past, Samford has been sent to Nashville, Tennessee (Vanderbilt) and Tallahassee, Florida (Florida State) twice.
 
With Sunday's victory, Samford (15-3-2) won its second SoCon Tournament title and advanced to the NCAA Field of 64 for the fourth time in 12 years, all of which have come under the direction of Head Coach Todd Yelton. Yelton is the winningest coach in Bulldog history with 191 victories.
 
Samford's Anna Allen and Abriella Argueta both scored goals in Sunday's championship win.
 
After falling behind 1-0 in the third minute, Allen's tally evened the match at 1-1 in the 36^th frane as she slammed home a deflected header from Olivia Cole on a corner kick. The key goal proved to be Allen's second of the 2016 campaign. Allen, the Bulldogs' hard-nosed competitor from Vestavia Hills, Alabama, finished the match with a goal and an assist and was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player.
 
Following Allen's goal late in the first half, Samford continued to dominate the pace of play in the match, but ETSU's (13-6-2) defensive back line proved to be stingy against the Bulldogs' attack.
 
Samford outshot the Buccaneers 13-6 on Sunday, including 7-2 in the second half. The Bulldogs also outnumbered ETSU in corner kicks, 8-0.
 
With just under 20 minutes remaining in the match, Samford and ETSU were still knotted at 1-1 when Allen sent a high, lofting crossing pass into the Buccaneers' box. Fellow senior Malcanisha Kelley headed the pass across the goal line over to her left where Argueta perfectly headed it home for the game-winning score.
 
Argueta's goal proved to be the decisive tally of the match and gave Samford its insurmountable 2-1 advantage. It was also her fourth of the season.
 
Down the stretch, the Bulldogs' defense stiffened and only allowed a single shot from the Buccaneers, which was saved at the final horn by junior goalkeeper Anna Maddox. Maddox, Samford's 6-foot, First-Team All-SoCon honoree, remained undefeated on the season and improved to 14-0. She finished with five key saves Sunday.
 
The Bulldogs' Taylor Meneide, Virginia McNeill, Korrie Sauder and Allen were named to the SoCon All-Tournament Team on Sunday. Additionally, McNeill garnered the Pinnacle Award, which is earned by the student-athlete with the highest grade points average on the winning team.
 
ETSU's lone goal of the contest was scored by Isabel Hodgson in the third minute of action. The score proved to be her fifth of the season and was assisted by Irina Brutsch.
 
The loss was ETSU's first at home on the season, as the Bucs fell to 11-1-0 on their home turf.
 
Now victorious in 10 straight matches, Samford equaled its longest winning streak since 2011, when the Bulldogs also won the SoCon Tournament and advanced to the NCAA Championships.
 
This year's SoCon title match provided the 11th meeting of the top two seeds, with No. 1 moving to 8-2-1 in those contests. Samford improved to 9-1-1 all-time as the No. 1 seed in the tournament.
 
The SoCon champion Samford University soccer team will next be in action this weekend as the Bulldogs begin play in their fourth NCAA Tournament in school history.
 
The NCAA Selection Show will air on NCAA.com on Monday, Nov. 7, at 3:30 p.m. (CST).
 
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.
 
SoCon Championship All-Tournament Team
 
Carlie Couch, Furman
Rose Hull, Furman
Maddie Clark, Mercer
Jamilah Tejan, Mercer
Isabel Hodgson, ETSU
Cecilia Re, ETSU
Pauline Vienne, ETSU
Anna Allen, Samford
Taylor Meneide, Samford
Virginia McNeill, Samford
Korrie Sauder, Samford
 
Most Outstanding Player
Anna Allen, Samford
 
Pinnacle Award (highest GPA among championship-eligible student-athletes on winning team)
Virginia McNeill, Samford

Box Score
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Samford Stats
Final SoCon Tournament Bracket