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MOBILE, Ala. -- On the road, in a tough contest against second-round 2015 NCAA Tournament participant South Alabama on Friday, the Samford University soccer team used a stellar performance from junior goalkeeper Katie Peters and a resilient effort from its talented back line to tally a 0-0 draw in the Bulldogs opening match of the season held at USA's "The Cage" Soccer Complex.
 
Samford (0-0-1), which fell short at home against South Alabama (0-0-1) last season in an offensive shootout, 3-2, turned up its defensive pressure Friday and held the Jaguars' high-powered attack without a goal. South Alabama entered the contest as the top team in the nation receiving votes outside of the top 25, essentially the No. 26-ranked squad in the country.
 
The Bulldogs tallied 13 shot attempts, with four proving to be on-goal. Two of Samford's best scoring chances in the first half came off the foot of dynamic sophomore midfielder Courtney Hendrickson. One of her attempts caromed off the right post, while the second was stopped via a diving save from South Alabama goalkeeper Sarah Hay.
 
Hay notched four solid stops Friday, but Samford's Peters stole the show with eight brilliant saves, many of which were key stops in nearly improbable circumstances. Peters, the Bulldogs' junior native of Greenfield, Indiana, set a personal single-game record with eight saves. Her performance topped a seven-save outing in a 3-2 home victory against Vanderbilt on Sept. 13, 2013.
 
Last season, Samford set a Southern Conference record by only allowing one goal in league play.
 
Late in double-overtime Friday, the Bulldogs' Anna Allen came inches of scoring the golden goal and lifting Samford to a thrilling 1-0 triumph.
 
Allen, the Bulldogs' hard-nosed senior from Vestavia Hills, gathered a pass on the left flank and rifled a deep shot from 40 yards out that nearly found the back of the net. Just as the ball seemed poised to sneak under the crossbar for the game-winning goal, South Alabama's Hay leapt up and nicked the ball with a fingertip to deflect the shot over the beam.
 
Allen, Sara Smeltzer and Jermaine Seoposenwe all tallied two shots apiece, while Hendrickson led the squad with three attempts. Taylor Borman, Kaitlyn Orman, Ella Baggett and Korrie Sauder all finished with one shot apiece.
 
The Jaguars, who went 18-3-2 last year and toppled LSU, 4-0, in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament, concluded its season opener versus Samford with 17 shots, eight of which were on-goal. All-Sun Belt performer Danielle Henley paced South Alabama with six attempts, while Charde Hannah added five.
 
Samford handily won the possession battle in overtime and outshot the Jaguars, 5-2, in the final 20 minutes of play. The Bulldogs also garnered an 8-7 lead in corner kicks.
 
All-time, Samford and South Alabama are knotted at 1-1-2 in the series rivalry.
 
The Samford University soccer team will next be in action Sunday at 6 p.m. (CDT) as the Bulldogs return home to Birmingham to square off against the Troy Trojans in the home-opening matchup to be held at the Samford Track and Soccer Stadium.
 
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Box Score
Samford Stats