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BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- The Samford University soccer team picked up its ninth all-time win against a Southeastern Conference opponent Tuesday, and its second home triumph over Alabama, as the Bulldogs used a brilliant second-half goal from senior forward Jermaine Seoposenwe to collect a momentous 1-0 victory held at the Samford Track and Soccer Stadium.
 
"I thought our team gave us a great effort tonight," said Samford head coach Todd Yelton. "That Alabama team is much, much improved. (Head Coach) Wes (Hart) has done a fantastic job with them and I thought their movement was exceptional. They also make it very difficult for the opposition, because they are so good at their system of play."
 
With the win, Samford (3-2-2) improved to 3-1 at home this season. The Bulldogs' home wins have occurred against Baylor, 1-0, Troy, 2-0, and Alabama (6-2), 1-0, with their lone loss of the campaign coming against Auburn, 4-3, on Aug. 28.
 
The Crimson Tide, which defeated Tennessee on Friday in its SEC opener, 5-1, suffered only its second loss of the season Tuesday. Prior to falling to Samford, the Crimson Tide's only other setback occurred on the road at No. 20-ranked USF, 1-0.
 
"For us to beat a team that has only lost one game all year, against a very good South Florida team, is a great accomplishment for our players," Yelton said. "I thought that we played great tonight and I think we'll gain a bit of confidence from this result."
 
All-time, the Bulldogs improved to 2-4 against Alabama and snapped a three-match losing streak to the Crimson Tide. Samford's previous victory in the series occurred Aug. 28, 2009, 3-0, at the old Bulldog Field.
 
Samford's game-winning goal Tuesday was scored by Seoposenwe in the 50^th minute of action. On the decisive play, the Bulldogs' Abriella Argueta stole an errant Alabama pass and streaked down the right sideline for 30 yards. Once she drew a pair of Crimson Tide defenders, Argueta sent a high crossing pass over to the left side of the field to an awaiting Seoposenwe.
 
Seoposenwe, Samford's All-Southern Conference forward who recently competed in the 2016 Olympic Games with South Africa, gathered the pass, took a couple steps toward Alabama goalkeeper Kat Stratton and niftily chipped a right-footed shot over Stratton's head and high into the back of the net.
 
Seoposenwe's amazing, game-winning goal proved to be her team-leading fourth of the season.
 
"I can't explain that one to you," smiled Yelton. "I don't know how she was able to score that goal. Maybe she can tell you how she did it, but we'll take them all as long as they go in. Abriella's coming off an injury and it's been amazing how much she's improved and gotten better each game out. I thought that she and Korrie (Sauder) really did an outstanding job for us tonight. They both came in at a critical point in the match and brought an energy to the team that definitely played a huge role in us getting the victory."
 
Argueta, the Bulldogs' junior native of Clarksville, Tennessee, notched her first assist of the season on the score.
 
"I can't say enough about all of our players tonight," Yelton said. "We had great play in the second half. I thought Taylor (Borman) was outstanding in the final 45 minutes and we have such dynamic players even who are coming off the bench for us. We have a lot of players that would be starting in pretty much any other situation."
 
Alabama closed out the contest with 15 shot attempts, nine of which came off the foot of sophomore forward Abbie Boswell. The Bulldogs finished Tuesday's match with 14 total shot attempts. Nine of Samford's shots proved to be on-goal, while senior forward Taylor Borman led the way with four attempts.
 
Anna Maddox, who was named the SoCon Player of the Week earlier in the day Tuesday, registered her second straight shutout victory. The Bulldogs' intimidating 6-foot goalkeeper from Warner Robins, Georgia, tallied three saves in the triumph, including a pair against Alabama's Boswell.
 
"Defensively, we just tried to limit their opportunities tonight," said Yelton. "The main thing that I noticed on film is that they are incredibly opportunistic. If you give them chances, they'll definitely punish you, so we tried to limit those as much as we could. Obviously, the biggest thing for us these last two games was our ability to defend on set-pieces and corners. Earlier this season, we were giving them away left and right. We've come a long way in a short period and we just need to keep getting better."
 
Alabama's best scoring opportunity occurred with only 4:26 remaining in the match as Logue Shamburger nearly evened the match at 1-1 with a dead-on strike from five yards out. With Maddox covering the right corner of the goal prior to a deep crossing pass, Shamburger found herself with a running, wide-open shot attempt that caromed off the crossbar and skimmed out of bounds.
 
With Tuesday's victory, Samford improved to 9-26-3 against SEC opponents. In the last five years, Samford has picked up key wins against Vanderbilt, Auburn (twice), Alabama, Tennessee, Baylor, Wake Forest, Kentucky, Memphis, UAB and Boise State.
 
Additionally, the Bulldogs' success has been monumental under Yelton. Since Yelton took the reins to the Samford soccer program in 2002, the Bulldogs have compiled impressive victories against Alabama, Auburn, Tennessee, Vanderbilt, Baylor, Wake Forest, North Carolina State, Kentucky, Mississippi State, Memphis, UAB, Boise State and Southern Miss.
 
"I think we've gotten more used to beating the SEC in the last few years or so," said Yelton in regards to his team's workmanlike reaction to Tuesday's victory. "It's definitely not easy to beat these teams. A lot of them are in the 'Power Five', but for us to have the success that we've had against the Big 12 and the SEC this year is great. We would certainly like to continue that, but it's also a factor of mindset, because we used to play those games hoping to win, now I think we play them with an expectation to win."
 
The Samford University soccer team will next be in action Friday at 7 p.m. (CDT) as the Bulldogs conclude their three-game homestand against the Kennesaw State Owls in a key non-conference contest to be held at the Samford Track and Soccer Stadium.
 
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