Box Score

EAST LANSING, Mich. -- In its lone exhibition match of the 2016 preseason, the Samford University soccer team played to a 1-1 draw Sunday with the Michigan State Spartans in a hard-fought duel held at MSU's DeMartin Stadium. The Bulldogs' Courtney Hendrickson tallied the game-tying goal in the 84^th minute to even the score at 1-1.
 
Following a penalty kick goal from Michigan State's Marisa Oleksiak in the 79^th minute, Samford trailed the Spartans, 1-0, and seemed doomed to suffer a tough road loss against its Big Ten counterpart. The Bulldogs, never disheartened, continued to push the limits offensively and exactly five minutes later equalized the match on Hendrickson's clutch goal.
 
Hendrickson, Samford's talented sophomore midfielder from Kennesaw, Georgia, sent a pretty one-timed shot past Michigan State's goalkeeper Olivia Argeros off a crossing pass from senior All-Southern Conference performer Malcanisha Kelley. Hendrickson's goal was scored from five yards out and proved to be the tying score of the game.
 
The Spartans barely edged Samford in the final shot total, 12-11, but seven of the Bulldogs' shots were on-goal, as opposed to four from Michigan State.
 
Hendrickson, Kelley and Sara Smeltzer spurred Samford's offensive attack Sunday with two shots apiece. The Bulldogs' Taylor Borman, Olivia Cole, Emily Jones, Virginia McNeill and Kaitlyn Orman also rattled off shots in the contest. Cole and McNeill both tallied quality scoring chances off headers in the match, but McNeill's attempt was foiled by a defender on the goal line and then Cole's shot was grabbed by Argeros is the second half.
 
The Bulldogs' All-SoCon forward Jermaine Seoposenwe did not play Sunday. She is still returning home from Rio de Janiero, Brazil, after participating in the 2016 Olympic Game for her home country of South Africa.
 
Samford's Katie Peters, who was recently named to the All-SoCon Preseason Team on Thursday, played all 90 minutes in goal for the Bulldogs. Michigan State split the time evenly between goalkeepers Kaitlyn Collin, Savanna Wojtanowski and Argeros. The trio played approximately 30 minutes apiece.
 
The Bulldogs outnumbered the Spartans in corner kick attempts, 6-1.
 
The Samford University soccer team will next be in action Friday at 7 p.m. (CDT) as the Bulldogs open their regular-season schedule with a tough intra-state matchup against the South Alabama Jaguars to be held at The Cage Soccer Complex in Mobile, Alabama.
 
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Box Score