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BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- The Samford University soccer team will square off against its second Southeastern Conference opponent in three days Sunday as the Bulldogs welcome the No. 24-ranked Auburn Tigers to the Samford Track and Soccer Stadium for a key marquee matchup slated to begin at 6 p.m. (CDT).
 

Samford (1-1-1) heads into the contest with aspirations of bouncing back from a 3-1 road loss at Georgia on Friday. Samford scored first in the match as senior defender Olivia Cole notched her initial goal of the season in the 10^th minute. Cole's score was assisted by fellow seniors Emily Jones and Taylor Borman.
 
Late in the first half, momentum started to shift back to the homestanding Bulldogs as Georgia's Marion Crowder tallied back-to-back scores in the 38th and 52nd minutes to propel UGA to the 3-1 home victory held at the Turner Soccer Complex.
 
Samford's Malcanisha Kelley led the Bulldogs with three shot attempts, while sophomore Korrie Sauder and Borman added two shots apiece.
 
Junior goalkeeper Katie Peters, Samford's reigning Southern Conference Player of the Week, allowed her first goal since Oct. 25, 2015, on Friday. The Bulldogs' junior stopper finished the game with three saves.
 
Georgia closed out the match with 21 shots and nine corner kicks. Samford finished with nine shots and a corner kick.
 
SCOUTING THE COMPETITION
Auburn (2-1) enters Sunday's matchup as the No. 24-ranked team in the nation. After opening their 2016 campaign with a 2-0 home loss to eighth-ranked Clemson on Aug. 19, the Tigers have reeled off back-to-back victories against South Alabama, 1-0 in 2OT, and 2-0 over Cal State Fullerton on Friday.
 
In their most recent triumph against Cal State Fullerton, Auburn's Casie Ramsier scored seven minutes into the match and then Courtney Schell netted another just six minutes into the second half to guide Auburn to its 2-0 win. The Tigers held a 14-7 advantage over the Titans in shot attempts.
 
HIGH EXPECTATIONS FOR AUBURN THIS SEASON
Auburn was picked third in the SEC's annual preseason coaches' poll, announced by the league office on Aug. 11. The Tigers received 141 points based on a point system ranging from one to 13, with each coach not allowed to vote for their own squad.
 
Florida took the top spot after receiving 10 of the 14 first-place votes with Texas A&M predicted to finish second. Auburn opened the season as one of five league teams ranked in the National Soccer Coaches Association of America Preseason Rankings. The Tigers entered the year at No. 12 and were joined by No. 7 Florida, No. 8 Texas A&M, No. 22 Ole Miss and No. 24 South Carolina.
 
Auburn returned 80 percent of its points from a season ago with Ramsier (28 points) and Brooke Ramsier (17 points) leading the charge offensively.
 
On defense, Tiger senior Kiana Clarke is captaining the back line with goalkeeper Sarah Le Beau returning for her second campaign between the posts.
 

SAMFORD SOCCER PREDICTED TO WIN THIRD STRAIGHT SOCON CHAMPIONSHIP
Two-time defending SoCon regular-season champion Samford was picked to win the league again in 2016, it was announced Aug. 11, in preseason voting by the SoCon's 10 head coaches. The coaches also selected an 11-member preseason all-conference team and the Bulldogs' Borman, Cole, Kelley, Peters and Jermaine Seoposenwe highlighted the list.
 
Samford collected eight first-place votes and 80 points to easily outdistance 2016 runner-up Furman, which picked up 68 points and one first-place vote. UNCG was third in the poll with 61 points and collected the remaining first-place vote. Mercer (58 points), ETSU (56), Western Carolina (42), Wofford (31), Chattanooga (25), VMI (17) and The Citadel (12) rounded out the poll, which mirrored the final standings from 2015.
 
Under the direction of three-time SoCon Coach of the Year Todd Yelton – who has won the award in each of the last two seasons – Samford went 14-5-1 in 2015, turning in an 8-1-0 league record. The Bulldogs return nine starters from that squad, including senior forward Kelley, who was second in the SoCon with 13 goals and 31 points and became Samford's career goal-scoring leader (28) last year.
 
Kelley was joined on the preseason all-conference team by fellow Samford forward Seoposenwe, who started for South Africa at the Rio Olympics, defender Cole, the 2015 SoCon Defensive Player of the Year, midfielder Borman and goalkeeper Peters.
 
SAMFORD vs. AUBURN - - THE ALL-TIME SERIES
The Tigers own a substantial 9-2-1 all-time record against Samford, but the Bulldogs have been victorious in two of the last three meetings between the teams. In 2013 and 2014, Samford registered back-to-back wins over Auburn with results of 1-0 in Birmingham and 2-1 in Auburn, respectively.
 
Last season, the Tigers were ranked No. 11 in the nation at the time of the teams' annual meeting and snapped the Bulldogs' two-match winning streak with a 2-0 victory held at the Auburn Soccer Complex. All-time, Samford owns a 1-3-1 record against Auburn when playing at home in Birmingham.
 
IN THE LAST MEETING BETWEEN THE TEAMS
On Sept. 4, 2015, Auburn's defense proved to be the deciding factor in the contest as Samford's potent offensive attack was limited to six shot attempts. The Bulldogs entered the contest averaging 2.8 goals per game.
 
A back-and-forth contest for the first 44:46 of the opening half, Auburn completely shifted the momentum of the match by scoring its game-winning goal 14 seconds before intermission.
 
The Tigers' Kristen Dodson tallied the initial score and gave Auburn its critical 1-0 lead as she forced home a rebounded shot off a missed shot. Dodson's goal proved to be her first of the season.
 
Following halftime, just over five minutes of match time after Dodson's score, the Tigers struck again to increase their lead to 2-0 at exactly 49:55. Auburn's final goal was tallied by Logan Beal and was assisted by both Clark and Ellie Leek.
 

Samford's offensive attack was paced by Ella Baggett. The Bulldogs' talented native of Clarksville, Tennessee, logged 71 minutes of playing time and rattled off both of the team's shots on goal. Kelley also notched a pair of shot attempts, but neither proved to be on-goal.
 
Peters pulled down a game-high six saves. The Bulldogs out-tallied Auburn in corner kicks, 4-2, but the Tigers outshot Samford, 20-6.
 
NO BACKING DOWN - - SAMFORD'S RECENT SUCCESS AGAINST SEC OPPONENTS
Since Sept. 9, 2012, Samford boasts a 5-4 record against SEC opponents, including wins against Auburn (twice), Tennessee, Vanderbilt and Kentucky. All-time, the Bulldogs own an 8-27-3 record versus SEC foes, but have really been successful against the conference as of late. Below is a listing of Samford's last nine matches with SEC opponents.
 
SAMFORD'S LAST NINE GAMES AGAINST SEC OPPONENTS         
Sept. 9, 2012 - - - Samford def. Kentucky, 3-1
Aug. 25, 2013 - - - Samford def. Tennessee, 1-0
Aug. 30, 2013 - - - Samford def. Auburn, 1-0
Sept. 13, 2013 - - - Samford def. Vanderbilt, 3-2 (2OT)
Aug. 24, 2014 - - - #14 South Carolina def. Samford, 2-0
Sept. 12, 2014 - - - Samford def. #18 Auburn, 2-1
Sept. 4, 2015 - - - #11 Auburn def. Samford, 2-0
Sept. 13, 2015 - - - Georgia def. Samford, 1-0
Aug. 26, 2016 - - - Georgia def. Samford, 3-1
 
2016 OLYMPIAN RETURNS TO SAMFORD
The Bulldogs' Seoposenwe recently returned to Samford University from Rio de Janiero, Brazil, after participating in the 2016 Olympic Games for her home country of South Africa.
 

Seoposenwe started at forward in all three matches against Sweden, China and Brazil. She also started in a nationally-televised friendly against the No. 1-ranked United States, which was held at Soldier Field in Chicago, Illinois.
 
SAMFORD'S 2015 HIGHLIGHTS
Samford, the defending back-to-back SoCon champion, concluded its 2015 campaign with a brilliant 14-5-1 overall record. The Bulldogs earned a momentous 2-1 victory over Wake Forest and posted a near-perfect 8-1 record in conference play. Samford finished last season with nine players earning All-SoCon honors and Yelton was named the SoCon Coach of the Year for a second straight year.
 
In 2016, the Bulldogs return nine starters from this last year's championship squad. Samford also boasts an additional 11 returning letterwinners, as well as its highly-touted, 10-member recruiting class.
 
Yelton, the three-time SoCon Coach of the Year, owns a brilliant 176-79-33 career record at Samford University. His talented coaching staff is comprised of Jay Yelton and Alyssa Whitehead.
 
The Bulldogs finished 10-3 at the Samford Track and Soccer Stadium last season and boasts a head-turning 68-20-13 record in home matches since 2006. During that time, Samford has registered historic victories against Auburn (twice), Wake Forest, Tennessee, Vanderbilt, Alabama, Kentucky, Memphis (four times), Southern Miss and UAB (three times).
 
Samford has registered at least 11 wins in seven straight seasons and has advanced to the semifinal round of the SoCon Tournament in seven of its eight years in the conference. The Bulldogs hold an 8-5-4 all-time record in SoCon Tournament matches, as well as a 74-17-18 mark against SoCon opponents.
 
WHAT'S COMING UP NEXT?
Following Sunday's high-profile home test against No. 24 Auburn, the Samford University soccer team will next be in action Friday at 7 p.m. (CDT) as the Bulldogs travel to Houston, Texas, for a key contest against the Rice Owls to be held at the Rice Track/Soccer Stadium.
 
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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