Box Score
Samford Stats

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- The Samford University soccer team improved its record at home to 5-1 this season Friday as the Bulldogs earned a demonstrative 2-0 shutout victory over the Mercer Bears in a key Southern Conference showdown held at the Samford Track and Soccer Stadium.
 
"We have a huge amount of respect for Mercer," said Samford head coach Todd Yelton. "Our games with them have really been some battles over the last two years, so we showed them the proper amount of respect tonight, for sure. I also thought we knocked it pretty well, which allowed us to create some pretty good chances and we were really good defensively. Overall, it was a solid match for us."
 
With the victory, Samford (6-3-2, 2-1 SoCon) extended its home winning streak to four and avenged a setback against Mercer (3-7-1, 1-2 SoCon) from the 2015 SoCon Tournament. Last year, in the semifinal round of the postseason tournament, the teams played to a 1-1 draw, but the Bears advanced to the championship match with a 4-3 triumph in penalty kicks.
 
Samford holds a distinct 9-2-3 all-time record in the series between the teams, dating all the way back to the Bulldogs' inaugural season in 1997.
 
"I thought our entire midfield played extremely well tonight," Yelton said. "We played a lot of people in the center tonight and I thought they were all excellent. I know it's super competitive in there for minutes, but we played a lot of different people tonight and I didn't think there was any drop-off at all. That's definitely a pretty significant part of the strength of our team."
 
Samford, which outshot Mercer, 18-4, on Friday and rarely allowed the Bears into their scoring third, lit up the scoreboard first with a goal from Jermaine Seoposenwe in the 19^th minute. On the goal, Seoposenwe gathered an errant Mercer pass at midfield and quickly raced down the left sideline, leaving a trio of Bear defenders in her wake.
 
Once at the corner of the box, Seoposenwe darted to her right and split another pair of Mercer players. She then found herself one-v-one with goalkeeper Cristina Mursuli and chipped the shot over her head and into the right corner of the net for the score.
 
Seoposenwe's goal proved to be her team-leading seventh of the season and the 17^th of her career. With one more score this season, she would move into the top 10 on Samford's all-time goals-scored list.
 
"Jermaine is usually a step faster than most on the pitch and she's just at a different level," Yelton said. "She doesn't really like to thrust herself into a leadership role. That's just not her style, but when she comes out and gives us a great effort, it certainly gives us a lift and gives our entire team confidence."
 
The Bulldogs' midfield and defensive back line both proved to be outstanding Friday. Samford didn't allow a single Mercer shot attempt in the first half and outshot the Bears, 10-0, in the opening period.
 
"One of the strengths that we have is that we are very deep and we can play 17 players in a match," Yelton said. "I think that allowed us to keep quality pressure on them all night. We were also able to keep ourselves out of bad spots. Overall, I think it was a solid performance from our defenders."
 
In the second half, the Bulldogs maintained their offensive pressure and senior Sara Smeltzer gave her squad a decisive 2-0 lead with her first goal of the season in the 59^th minute. Smeltzer earned 47 minutes of playing time Friday and notched the 10^th goal of her career. Seoposenwe set up Samford's second goal of the match with a pretty through-pass ahead to Smeltzer.
 
"I was really happy for Sara and her getting that goal there to put us up 2-0," said Yelton. "She's come a long way in her four years here at Samford and has really become a very relevant player on this roster. I was happy for her."
 
The assist was Seoposenwe's fifth of the season and her Samford-record 29^th in just her third year as a Bulldog. Two seasons ago, she set the school's single-season record in assists with 13, while notching 11 last year.
 
Samford goalkeeper Anna Maddox played all 90 minutes in goal Friday and finished with three saves. The Bulldogs' 6-foot junior from Warner Robins, Georgia, owns a perfect 5-0 record this season and a miniscule 0.56 goals-against average. Maddox owns a 26-9 record in goal at Samford.
 
Mercer's Mursuli, a 5-foot-2 senior from Inverness, Illinois, finished with five saves, but dropped to 2-7 on the season with the loss.
 
Samford won the corner kick battle, 6-1, while the fouls were listed 10-9 against the Bulldogs.
 
The Samford University soccer team's two-match SoCon homestand will continue Sunday at 2 p.m. (CDT) as the Bulldogs play host to The Citadel in another league matchup to be held at the Samford Track and 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.

Box Score
Samford Stats